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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — in a race
  4. degree — from a university
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. spring — the season
  10. perch — the fish
  11. degree — an amount
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. spring — of water
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. straw — dry grass

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