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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. perch — the fish
  3. ground — a position
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bass — low music
  8. game — a match
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mug — to rob
  12. game — wild animals
  13. degree — from a university
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ground — the earth
  17. chair — a leader
  18. fall — the season
  19. degree — an amount
  20. mug — a face
  21. fall — to drop
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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