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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 120 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 my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. fall — to drop
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. spell — a short time
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. rash — hasty
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. perch — the fish
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. spell — magic
  18. degree — from a university
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. rash — a series
  21. sharp — clever
  22. spell — letters
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fall — the season

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