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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. last — final
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. toast — bread
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. perch — the fish
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. ground — the earth
  16. degree — from a university
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. sharp — clever
  19. last — finally
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. degree — temperature
  22. ground — a position
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. last — to go on

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