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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bulb — for light
  3. court — of law
  4. perch — the fish
  5. stand — to bear
  6. degree — an amount
  7. court — for sport
  8. bulb — for light
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. court — of a king
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. degree — temperature
  16. swing — to play on
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stand — for spectators

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