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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. perch — the fish
  3. file — a document
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — from a university
  6. last — to go on
  7. shower — to wash
  8. file — a line of people
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bound — tied together
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. face — to point toward
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. face — to confront
  16. file — a tool
  17. last — finally
  18. degree — an amount
  19. last — final
  20. season — in sport
  21. shower — rain
  22. bound — certain
  23. season — of the year
  24. bound — obliged

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