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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.

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: perch · dip · can · wound · object · degree · cold · court

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. dip — to sink
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. object — a thing
  4. court — of a king
  5. can — to be able to
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. object — an aim
  8. can — a tin
  9. object — to protest
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. court — for sport
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. court — of law
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. can — a tin
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cold — not warm
  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