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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. shower — to wash
  3. degree — temperature
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitch — completely
  9. degree — from a university
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. degree — an amount
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. saw — the tool
  18. shower — rain
  19. saw — the tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. leaves — lets stay

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