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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rock — music
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. perch — the fish
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. wake — a trail
  16. dip — to sink
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. key — for a lock
  19. degree — temperature
  20. key — in music
  21. rock — a stone
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. key — the most important part

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