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

Word bank: perch · degree · cold · rule · bear · hide

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. degree — temperature
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cold — not warm
  9. perch — the fish
  10. rule — government
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — an illness
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bear — the animal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bear — the animal

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