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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. court — of law
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. perch — the fish
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. degree — an amount
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. court — of a king
  20. press — to push
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. court — for sport

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