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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. field — a subject
  7. lean — to bend
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. band — a music group
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. field — for sport
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. band — a ring
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. field — farmland
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. lean — thin
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. perch — the fish
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lean — to rest against

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