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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. stand — to bear
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. saw — the tool
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. spring — of water
  10. saw — the tool
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. craft — boats
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. scale — in music
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spring — the season
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spring — a coil
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. degree — from a university
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. stand — on your feet

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