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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. march — the month
  3. degree — from a university
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bear — the animal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. march — music
  12. saw — the tool
  13. march — the month
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wax — to grow
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. cell — in biology
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cell — a phone

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