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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fall — the season
  6. track — to keep track
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. bound — obliged
  9. net — in sport
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. net — after costs
  14. current — electric
  15. degree — an amount
  16. net — for catching
  17. bound — tied together
  18. track — a path
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. degree — temperature
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. track — a song

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