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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 116 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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. track — a path
  3. cap — a lid
  4. perch — the fish
  5. track — a song
  6. rest — what's left
  7. degree — an amount
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. rest — what's left
  11. stand — to bear
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. kid — to tease
  16. content — happy
  17. kid — child
  18. content — the amount
  19. cap — a hat
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cap — of ice
  22. rest — a break
  23. track — to keep track
  24. degree — temperature

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