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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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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: cue · bowl · object · key · hide · degree · face · cold

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. degree — from a university
  3. object — to protest
  4. cue — for pool
  5. key — for a lock
  6. cue — a signal
  7. object — an aim
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. key — in music
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. key — the most important part
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. degree — temperature
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. object — a thing
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. cold — not warm
  24. face — to point toward

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