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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 124 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. capital — a city
  3. degree — from a university
  4. perch — the fish
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. row — a line
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. root — of a plant
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. root — of a word
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bound — obliged
  15. degree — temperature
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. root — the cause
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bound — certain
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bound — tied together
  24. pass — a permit

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