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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 124 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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. drill — a practice
  5. key — the most important part
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. key — for a lock
  9. ground — a position
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. ground — crushed
  12. key — in music
  13. perch — the fish
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. degree — temperature
  16. ground — the earth
  17. degree — an amount
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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