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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: dip · roll · wind · net · degree · coach · fall · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. roll — a cake
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. roll — a list
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. degree — an amount
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. dip — to sink
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. net — in sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. fall — to drop
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. perch — for a bird

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