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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. degree — temperature
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. clip — to cut
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pass — a permit
  7. drill — a practice
  8. clip — a video
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. charge — a price
  11. drill — the tool
  12. charge — electricity
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. saw — the tool
  15. clip — for paper
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. degree — an amount
  20. charge — in control
  21. saw — the tool
  22. content — happy
  23. degree — from a university
  24. drill — army training

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