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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. drill — the tool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. last — final
  8. perch — the fish
  9. wound — an injury
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wound — an injury
  12. last — finally
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — a practice
  22. last — to go on
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. hide — animal skin

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