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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lean — to bend
  3. perch — the fish
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. file — a tool
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cell — in biology
  10. file — a line of people
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. lean — thin
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. file — a document
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. rush — hurry
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cell — a phone
  24. degree — from a university

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