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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. root — the cause
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. row — a line
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. root — of a word
  11. current — happening now
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. degree — temperature
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. current — electric
  16. file — a document
  17. row — to paddle
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. degree — an amount
  20. root — of a plant
  21. current — of water
  22. file — a tool
  23. pound — a weight
  24. file — a line of people

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