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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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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: cold · racket · fall · object · bay · degree · march · wake

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. bay — a horse colour
  2. object — a thing
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. object — an aim
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. march — music
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — to protest
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. march — the month
  17. wake — a trail
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fall — to drop
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. fall — the season
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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