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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 my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. file — a document
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. file — a tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stand — to bear
  11. ball — a great time
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ball — a dance
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bear — the animal
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. bear — the animal
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cold — not warm
  24. file — a line of people

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