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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: degree · ground · mine · stick · kick · cue · bear · wind

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — for pool
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. bear — the animal
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cue — a hint
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wind — moving air
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — crushed
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. bear — the animal
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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