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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 124 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 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. date — the fruit
  7. fork — in a road
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — an illness
  10. degree — temperature
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. perch — the fish
  18. fall — to drop
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cold — not warm
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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