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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. present — there
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — an amount
  6. present — the time now
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. present — a gift
  15. saw — the tool
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. saw — the tool
  24. degree — from a university

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