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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. race — a contest
  3. degree — temperature
  4. race — humankind
  5. court — for sport
  6. charge — a price
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. court — of law
  9. shower — rain
  10. court — of a king
  11. degree — an amount
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. race — the arms race
  14. swing — in golf
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. charge — in control
  19. swing — to play on
  20. charge — electricity
  21. swing — music
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. degree — from a university
  24. shower — to wash

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