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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. degree — an amount
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — an aim
  6. stem — to come from
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wake — a trail
  11. degree — from a university
  12. object — a thing
  13. degree — temperature
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. game — a match
  19. march — the month
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. game — wild animals
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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