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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — a stone
  4. degree — from a university
  5. field — farmland
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. rock — music
  9. perch — the fish
  10. present — there
  11. spring — the season
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. present — the time now
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spring — of water
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pit — in a race
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. field — for sport
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. present — a gift
  22. pit — a hole
  23. degree — an amount
  24. field — a subject

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