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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. rock — a stone
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. degree — temperature
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. perch — the fish
  8. rock — music
  9. suit — to fit
  10. clip — for paper
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. degree — an amount
  13. suit — clothes
  14. degree — from a university
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. lean — thin
  17. suit — in cards
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. shower — rain
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. shower — to wash
  24. clip — a video

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