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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. last — final
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. perch — the fish
  10. degree — an amount
  11. last — finally
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. sharp — clever
  18. degree — temperature
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wind — moving air
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — to go on

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