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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 116 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: cabinet · perch · row · degree · shower · net · wave · cold

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. perch — the fish
  3. shower — rain
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. net — for catching
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. row — a line
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. net — after costs
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. degree — an amount
  23. net — in sport
  24. row — to paddle

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