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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. shower — to wash
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. degree — an amount
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. plane — a tool
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. shower — rain
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. degree — from a university
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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