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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. saw — the tool
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. key — for a lock
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bank — of a river
  7. key — in music
  8. degree — from a university
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. degree — an amount
  13. key — the most important part
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — for money
  17. perch — the fish
  18. degree — temperature
  19. date — the fruit
  20. game — wild animals
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. saw — the tool
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. game — a match

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