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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. net — for catching
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. tear — from crying
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. net — in sport
  7. track — a song
  8. press — to push
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. track — a path
  13. ball — a great time
  14. net — after costs
  15. tear — from crying
  16. press — a publisher
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. tear — to rip
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. press — newspapers
  21. track — to keep track
  22. ball — a dance
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. perch — the fish

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