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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. degree — from a university
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rush — hurry
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. land — ground
  10. bear — the animal
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. land — a country
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. land — to come down
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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