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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 124 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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bass — the fish
  4. lean — to bend
  5. degree — temperature
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lean — thin
  10. key — the most important part
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. degree — from a university
  13. key — in music
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bass — low music
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — an illness
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cold — not warm
  20. key — for a lock
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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