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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: sharp · perch · dip · straw · present · leaves · cold · fall

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cold — not warm
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cold — an illness
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. present — there
  12. dip — to sink
  13. fall — to drop
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. present — the time now
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. present — a gift
  23. straw — dry grass
  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