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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.

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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: perch · safe · hide · staff · degree · cold · face · file

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. face — to point toward
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. degree — an amount
  5. face — part of the head
  6. perch — the fish
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cold — not warm
  9. face — to confront
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. file — a tool
  13. staff — employees
  14. degree — from a university
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cold — an illness
  17. staff — employees
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. file — a line of people
  20. staff — a stick
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. file — a document

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