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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 116 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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. key — in music
  3. key — for a lock
  4. field — farmland
  5. key — the most important part
  6. press — newspapers
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. cell — a phone
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. tube — a container
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tube — the underground
  15. field — a subject
  16. perch — the fish
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — the arms race
  20. field — for sport
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. degree — an amount
  23. cell — in biology
  24. race — a contest

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