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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stem — to come from
  4. charge — a price
  5. rest — what's left
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. charge — electricity
  8. spring — a coil
  9. charge — in control
  10. rest — a break
  11. degree — temperature
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. spring — of water
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. net — after costs
  16. firm — steady
  17. degree — from a university
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. firm — a company
  20. spring — the season
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rest — what's left

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