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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. degree — an amount
  3. track — to keep track
  4. firm — decided
  5. degree — from a university
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. net — for catching
  9. season — in sport
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. track — a song
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. firm — steady
  17. net — in sport
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. net — after costs
  20. track — a path
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. season — of the year
  24. firm — a company

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