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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. spring — the season
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. perch — the fish
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lie — to recline
  12. spring — a coil
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. court — of law
  16. cell — a phone
  17. degree — temperature
  18. spring — of water
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. court — for sport
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. court — of a king
  24. degree — from a university

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