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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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Word bank
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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. drill — army training
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. court — of law
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. court — for sport
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. perch — the fish
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — an amount
  17. cell — a phone
  18. court — of a king
  19. drill — the tool
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cell — in biology
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. drill — a practice
  24. straw — a straw man

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