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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. degree — from a university
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. perch — the fish
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. degree — temperature
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. race — humankind
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bore — to drill
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. race — a contest
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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