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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  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. sharp — clever
  2. spring — a coil
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bound — tied together
  5. spring — the season
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bound — obliged
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bound — certain
  13. pop — soda
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pop — to visit
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wax — to grow
  20. pop — music
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. spring — of water
  23. wax — in the ear
  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