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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bank — for money
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. craft — boats
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cold — not warm
  9. degree — temperature
  10. craft — a skill
  11. bank — of a river
  12. cue — a hint
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bank — for money
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cold — an illness
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount

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