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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. pop — soda
  6. perch — the fish
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. degree — temperature
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. degree — from a university
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. sharp — clever
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. pop — to visit
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pop — music

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