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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · perch · rule · fall · degree · leaves

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. rule — a law
  3. perch — the fish
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rule — government
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. fall — to drop
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. degree — temperature
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cell — in a prison

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