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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. row — to paddle
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. net — after costs
  5. capital — money
  6. degree — an amount
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — the arms race
  11. degree — temperature
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. net — for catching
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. perch — the fish
  17. capital — a city
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. race — humankind
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. degree — from a university
  23. net — in sport
  24. row — a line

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