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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. staff — a stick
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rock — a stone
  6. staff — employees
  7. spring — of water
  8. fork — in a road
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. perch — the fish
  13. spring — the season
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. rock — music
  20. staff — employees
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cold — an illness
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. arm — part of the body

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