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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. club — a group
  3. press — to push
  4. press — newspapers
  5. degree — temperature
  6. club — for golf
  7. press — a publisher
  8. degree — an amount
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. club — for dancing
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. date — the fruit
  15. degree — from a university
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. cold — an illness
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cold — the Cold War

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