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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. perch — the fish
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. kick — in football
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. lean — thin
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lean — to bend
  14. degree — an amount
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. perch — for a bird

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