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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 120 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: deal · cue · file · degree · mate · band · pit · perch

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pit — a hole
  4. band — a music group
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — a hint
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mate — a friend
  11. degree — temperature
  12. band — a ring
  13. file — a document
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mate — to breed
  16. deal — to handle
  17. mate — a partner
  18. file — a line of people
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pit — in a race
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cue — for pool
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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