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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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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: chest · cue · stick · cold · degree · wound · mouse · deal

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. chest — a box
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cold — an illness
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cue — a signal
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cue — a hint
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. deal — to handle
  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