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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cue · last · nail · cabinet · degree · cold · spring · kick

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. last — to go on
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. spring — of water
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. cue — a hint
  10. degree — temperature
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. degree — from a university
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kick — in football
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cold — not warm
  21. spring — the season
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cabinet — ministers

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