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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 120 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bass — low music
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bass — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. club — for dancing
  8. drill — the tool
  9. prune — to trim
  10. club — for golf
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. club — a group
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pass — a permit
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. perch — the fish
  19. land — a country
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. land — to come down
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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