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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cue — for pool
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cue — a signal
  10. wax — to grow
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. lie — to recline
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cue — a hint

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