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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pass — a permit
  3. bat — the animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. kick — in football
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. row — a line
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. coach — a trainer

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