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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mark — a grade
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. club — a group
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mine — for digging
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mate — a partner
  12. club — for golf
  13. perch — the fish
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mark — a trace
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. club — for dancing
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. degree — from a university
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. perch — for a bird

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