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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cap — of ice
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cap — a lid
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rest — a break
  8. perch — the fish
  9. rash — hasty
  10. field — a subject
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pass — a permit
  17. wake — a trail
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cap — a hat
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rash — a series
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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