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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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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: cold · cue · degree · wax · lie · wake · face · hide

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cue — for pool
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wax — to grow
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cue — a signal
  12. face — to confront
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. face — part of the head
  22. degree — temperature
  23. lie — to recline
  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