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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. season — in sport
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. degree — temperature
  6. craft — boats
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — a law
  9. degree — an amount
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. lean — to bend
  12. season — of the year
  13. perch — the fish
  14. degree — from a university
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. rule — government
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. lean — thin
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. craft — a skill
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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