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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: safe · perch · degree · dip · foot · firm · cold · cell

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. safe — a strongbox
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. cold — an illness
  4. degree — from a university
  5. foot — a measure
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. firm — steady
  8. degree — an amount
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cell — in biology
  15. firm — a company
  16. dip — to sink
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. perch — the fish
  21. firm — decided
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. cold — not warm
  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