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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. degree — from a university
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fork — in a road
  8. squash — the sport
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. perch — the fish
  13. club — a group
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. sharp — clever
  17. chair — a leader
  18. club — for golf
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. squash — to crush

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