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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · bass · degree · perch · spell · pass · cold · leaves

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cold — not warm
  3. face — to point toward
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bass — low music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. pass — a permit
  11. face — to confront
  12. cold — an illness
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. perch — the fish
  18. spell — letters
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. face — part of the head
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. degree — from a university
  24. spell — a short time

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