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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. perch — the fish
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. plane — a tool
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. suit — in cards
  9. degree — an amount
  10. clip — to cut
  11. shower — to wash
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. suit — clothes
  14. stem — to come from
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. clip — a video
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. suit — to fit
  21. pitch — completely
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. clip — for paper
  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