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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — moving air
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fall — to drop
  8. present — the time now
  9. cold — not warm
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fall — to drop
  17. present — a gift
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bark — to shout
  23. present — there
  24. wound — an injury

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