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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. suit — in cards
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. tube — a container
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. suit — to fit
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. suit — clothes
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. snap — to click
  19. wound — an injury
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chair — a professorship

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