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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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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: racket · degree · hide · cold · cell · lie · cue · stick

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cue — for pool
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cue — a signal
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cell — in biology
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. degree — an amount
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. lie — to recline
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. cold — an illness
  22. degree — from a university
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. lie — an untruth

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