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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. last — final
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. fine — all right
  5. tear — to rip
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. last — finally
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rush — hurry
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lean — thin
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. current — electric
  15. current — of water
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fine — high quality
  18. last — to go on
  19. degree — from a university
  20. lean — to bend
  21. degree — an amount
  22. current — happening now
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. tear — from crying

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