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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 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. row — a line
  3. ground — a position
  4. object — an aim
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. degree — an amount
  8. ground — the earth
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. object — to protest
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. row — to paddle
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. rush — hurry
  18. ground — crushed
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. cue — a hint
  21. object — a thing
  22. cue — a signal
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. degree — temperature

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