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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ground — a position
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. degree — from a university
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. perch — the fish
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. degree — temperature
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. ground — crushed
  19. stem — to come from
  20. swing — music
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. swing — to play on
  23. shower — to wash
  24. ground — the earth

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