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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: saw · can · perch · cold · pop · fall · degree · craft

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fall — the season
  7. pop — soda
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. perch — the fish
  11. can — a tin
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fall — to drop
  17. degree — from a university
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. degree — temperature
  22. can — to be able to
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cold — the Cold War

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