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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. degree — an amount
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — tied together
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. court — of law
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pit — in a race
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. degree — from a university
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. object — to protest
  17. pit — a hole
  18. bound — obliged
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

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