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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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Word bank
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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: stem · degree · drill · cue · fall · hand · deal · mug

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mug — a face
  3. fall — the season
  4. cue — a hint
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. cue — for pool
  7. drill — army training
  8. cue — a signal
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. fall — to drop
  11. hand — in cards
  12. drill — the tool
  13. degree — temperature
  14. stem — to come from
  15. mug — a cup
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. mug — to rob
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. degree — an amount
  21. fall — to drop
  22. drill — a practice
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stem — of a plant

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