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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mate — a friend
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. degree — from a university
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. land — ground
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. mate — a partner
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to bend
  15. degree — an amount
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. race — the arms race
  18. key — the most important part
  19. land — a country
  20. race — a contest
  21. degree — temperature
  22. perch — the fish
  23. race — humankind
  24. mate — to breed

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