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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. spring — a coil
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. ground — crushed
  7. key — the most important part
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. perch — the fish
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rash — a series
  12. degree — an amount
  13. spring — of water
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rash — hasty
  17. key — in music
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rush — hurry
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ground — a position
  22. wound — an injury
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rush — a thrill

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