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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. degree — an amount
  2. net — in sport
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. swing — to play on
  6. net — after costs
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. ball — a great time
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bear — the animal
  13. net — for catching
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mark — a trace
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. swing — music
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. degree — from a university
  22. swing — in golf
  23. perch — for a bird
  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