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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fine — all right
  3. spring — a coil
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. degree — from a university
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. swing — in golf
  8. degree — an amount
  9. rule — a law
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. rule — government
  12. degree — temperature
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. spring — of water
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. board — to get on
  19. perch — the fish
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. board — a committee
  23. spring — the season
  24. fine — high quality

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