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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. suit — in cards
  3. degree — temperature
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. firm — a company
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. perch — the fish
  9. march — music
  10. rash — a series
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. degree — from a university
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. march — the month
  16. firm — steady
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. firm — decided
  20. cell — a phone
  21. degree — an amount
  22. march — the month
  23. suit — clothes
  24. suit — to fit

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