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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. file — a tool
  3. net — in sport
  4. snap — to click
  5. degree — temperature
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pop — music
  10. file — a document
  11. pop — to visit
  12. perch — the fish
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bear — the animal
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. net — after costs
  20. file — a line of people
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bear — the animal
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. net — for catching

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