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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. degree — an amount
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bark — to shout
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. key — the most important part
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. key — for a lock
  12. staff — employees
  13. mine — for digging
  14. snap — to click
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. track — a song
  20. staff — a stick
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. staff — employees
  23. degree — from a university
  24. key — in music

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