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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 120 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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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: degree · bay · field · ground · safe · cold · rush · perch

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. degree — from a university
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. degree — temperature
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. field — for sport
  18. perch — the fish
  19. field — farmland
  20. ground — a position
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. ground — crushed
  24. field — a subject

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