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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. saw — the tool
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mate — a friend
  5. fine — high quality
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. mate — to breed
  9. fine — all right
  10. present — the time now
  11. degree — temperature
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mate — a partner
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. perch — the fish
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — there

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