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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wake — a trail
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rest — a break
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. rest — what's left
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pit — in a race

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