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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. root — of a plant
  3. staff — employees
  4. perch — the fish
  5. court — for sport
  6. can — to be able to
  7. degree — from a university
  8. staff — employees
  9. root — of a word
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. court — of law
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. degree — an amount
  15. staff — a stick
  16. mate — a partner
  17. spell — magic
  18. root — the cause
  19. degree — temperature
  20. spell — letters
  21. mate — a friend
  22. spell — a short time
  23. court — of a king
  24. mate — to breed

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