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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 120 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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. rest — what's left
  4. last — final
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. fine — all right
  7. rest — a break
  8. degree — temperature
  9. last — finally
  10. bat — the animal
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — a tool
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. rest — what's left
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. fine — high quality
  18. branch — a division
  19. last — to go on
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. degree — an amount
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bat — for baseball

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