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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: wake · row · coach · arm · degree · rash · safe · cold

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. degree — an amount
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. row — to paddle
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. row — a line
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. rash — a series
  24. arm — part of the body

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