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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.

Words on the sheet
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 · fan · stem · cold · saw · degree · game · key

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. cold — not warm
  7. game — wild animals
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. key — in music
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. degree — from a university
  14. saw — the tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. key — for a lock
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. saw — the tool
  20. game — a match
  21. degree — temperature
  22. stem — to come from
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. key — the most important part

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