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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: degree · sharp · cue · cold · temple · pit · lash · bass

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bass — the fish
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cold — an illness
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. degree — an amount
  9. sharp — clever
  10. cue — for pool
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cue — a hint
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bass — low music
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cue — a signal
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. degree — temperature
  24. sharp — exactly

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