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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fine — high quality
  5. roll — a cake
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. pop — to visit
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. pop — soda
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pop — music
  18. degree — temperature
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. fine — all right
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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