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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rule — government
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. perch — the fish
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. swing — in golf
  17. degree — an amount
  18. scale — in music
  19. swing — music
  20. rule — a law
  21. wound — an injury
  22. net — for catching
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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