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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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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: root · perch · ruler · mouse · wound · degree · face · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. degree — from a university
  3. face — to point toward
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. face — part of the head
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. root — of a plant
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. face — to confront
  11. cold — an illness
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. wound — an injury
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. cold — not warm
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. perch — the fish
  20. root — of a word
  21. wound — an injury
  22. root — the cause
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. degree — an amount

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