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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. rock — music
  3. staff — employees
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. staff — employees
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stem — to come from
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. squash — to crush
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rock — a stone
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. staff — a stick
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. drill — a practice

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