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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. perch — the fish
  6. court — of law
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. court — of a king
  13. kick — in football
  14. bound — tied together
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bound — certain
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bound — obliged
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wake — a trail
  23. degree — from a university
  24. lean — thin

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