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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. net — for catching
  3. press — to push
  4. degree — from a university
  5. vault — a safe
  6. hand — in cards
  7. degree — an amount
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. press — a publisher
  10. net — in sport
  11. degree — temperature
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. row — a line
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. row — to paddle
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. press — newspapers
  19. hand — help
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. net — after costs

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