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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. key — in music
  3. degree — an amount
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. ground — a position
  9. court — for sport
  10. degree — temperature
  11. ground — crushed
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. key — for a lock
  18. court — of law
  19. ground — the earth
  20. court — of a king
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. row — to paddle
  23. key — the most important part
  24. perch — the fish

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