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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. perch — the fish
  3. race — a contest
  4. snap — to click
  5. degree — from a university
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. row — a line
  11. race — the arms race
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. row — to paddle
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. present — there
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. degree — an amount
  24. race — humankind

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