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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: ground · sharp · perch · stem · roll · cold · rush · bowl

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. ground — the earth
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. roll — a cake
  11. stem — to come from
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. rush — hurry
  16. cold — not warm
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. sharp — clever
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cold — an illness

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