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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: plane · present · snap · cue · wake · degree · pop · cold

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. plane — a tool
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. present — there
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cold — an illness
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. degree — from a university
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wake — a trail
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. present — a gift
  18. cue — a hint
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — music
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. cue — for pool
  23. present — the time now
  24. snap — to click

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com