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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. swing — to play on
  3. key — for a lock
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. perch — the fish
  6. degree — from a university
  7. key — the most important part
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. key — in music
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. swing — music
  22. spell — magic
  23. swing — in golf
  24. degree — an amount

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