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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. can — a tin
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. fall — to drop
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. can — to be able to
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mate — a friend
  12. fall — to drop
  13. degree — temperature
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. swing — music
  16. can — a tin
  17. degree — an amount
  18. perch — the fish
  19. swing — to play on
  20. degree — from a university
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. fall — the season
  23. mate — a partner
  24. perch — for a bird

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