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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. degree — an amount
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. fine — all right
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. fine — high quality
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. stem — to come from
  20. perch — the fish
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. scale — in music
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. scale — size or range

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