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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fall — the season
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bass — low music
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bass — the fish
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. degree — from a university
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. snap — to click
  22. fall — to drop
  23. land — a country
  24. fall — to drop

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