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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 120 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: land · degree · current · mark · cold · cue

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cold — not warm
  4. current — happening now
  5. cue — a signal
  6. current — electric
  7. cue — for pool
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. current — of water
  10. land — ground
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cold — an illness

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