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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: cold · track · perch · bat · cabinet · hide · leaves · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cold — an illness
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bat — the animal
  8. perch — the fish
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. track — a song
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. track — a path

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