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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. degree — an amount
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. scale — size or range
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. degree — from a university
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. roll — a cake
  12. perch — the fish
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. lean — to bend
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. lean — thin
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. degree — temperature
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. roll — a list
  24. stock — shares

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