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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wake — a trail
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. chip — to eat
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. degree — temperature
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. fine — high quality
  19. press — to push
  20. chip — for betting
  21. press — a publisher
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pitch — completely
  24. press — newspapers

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