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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: straw · last · cue · degree · rash · kick · mine · band

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cue — for pool
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. degree — from a university
  9. last — finally
  10. band — a ring
  11. last — to go on
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. cue — a signal
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. last — final
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rash — a series
  20. kick — in football
  21. cue — a hint
  22. rash — hasty
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. band — a music group

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