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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mug — a cup
  3. bulb — for light
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bulb — for light
  7. stem — to come from
  8. lie — to recline
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. game — wild animals
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mug — a face
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. game — a match
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. perch — the fish
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mug — to rob
  24. stem — a stem cell

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