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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. band — a ring
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. band — a music group
  10. hand — in cards
  11. lean — thin
  12. degree — an amount
  13. perch — the fish
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. hand — help
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. lean — to bend
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rest — what's left

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