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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. scale — size or range
  4. saw — the tool
  5. degree — temperature
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. mine — for digging
  10. degree — from a university
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kid — to tease
  16. saw — the tool
  17. degree — an amount
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. kid — child
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. scale — in music
  24. perch — for a bird

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