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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pit — in a race
  6. craft — boats
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. degree — an amount
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wind — moving air
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rock — a stone
  19. snap — to click
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. perch — the fish
  22. pit — a hole
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wind — moving air

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