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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cap — a hat
  3. mine — for digging
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chair — a leader
  10. scale — in music
  11. degree — from a university
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — of water
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. current — electric
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cap — a lid
  21. scale — size or range
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. degree — temperature
  24. scale — for weighing

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