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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: bass · cue · last · ruler · snap · hand · degree · bay

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. cue — for pool
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. last — final
  6. snap — to click
  7. last — to go on
  8. bass — low music
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. hand — help
  11. cue — a signal
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. degree — from a university
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. last — finally
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. cue — a hint
  23. bass — the fish
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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