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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. cold — an illness
  4. hand — help
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. net — for catching
  8. wake — a trail
  9. net — after costs
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. hand — in cards
  15. degree — from a university
  16. perch — the fish
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — a friend
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. net — in sport
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cold — not warm
  24. leaves — to go away

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