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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. degree — temperature
  5. field — for sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. sharp — clever
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. pass — a permit
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rock — music
  14. field — a subject
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — a stone
  17. perch — the fish
  18. band — a music group
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bulb — for light
  23. degree — an amount
  24. field — farmland

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