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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 120 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. land — a country
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. wind — moving air
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. game — a match
  12. degree — from a university
  13. branch — a division
  14. wind — moving air
  15. degree — temperature
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. degree — an amount
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. land — ground
  21. perch — the fish
  22. land — to come down
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. nail — on a finger

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