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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 116 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 · bank · cell · cue · craft · cold · game · mate

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. bank — for money
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cue — a signal
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a hint
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cell — a phone
  13. craft — boats
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bank — for money
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cold — an illness
  19. game — a match
  20. bank — of a river
  21. craft — a skill
  22. mate — a partner
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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