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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. firm — a company
  3. race — humankind
  4. firm — steady
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pit — a hole
  7. march — music
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. degree — from a university
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. firm — decided
  12. swing — music
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. snap — to click
  17. swing — in golf
  18. race — a contest
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. degree — an amount
  23. swing — to play on
  24. race — the arms race

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