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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. roll — a cake
  4. field — for sport
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. roll — a list
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. stem — to come from
  15. mark — a trace
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. field — farmland
  20. perch — the fish
  21. mark — a grade
  22. field — a subject
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. roll — on a roll

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