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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cell — a phone
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. charge — in control
  9. squash — to crush
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. squash — the sport
  12. rash — a series
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. charge — a price
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. charge — electricity
  20. cell — in biology
  21. perch — the fish
  22. degree — temperature
  23. arm — part of the body
  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