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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 116 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: race · staff · cue · wound · kid · bear · degree · court

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bear — the animal
  4. staff — a stick
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cue — a signal
  7. court — of a king
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cue — a hint
  10. kid — child
  11. race — a contest
  12. court — of law
  13. staff — employees
  14. kid — to tease
  15. race — humankind
  16. bear — the animal
  17. race — the arms race
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. staff — employees
  22. wound — an injury
  23. court — for sport
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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