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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bank — of a river
  5. staff — employees
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. degree — from a university
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ground — the earth
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rash — a series
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — for money
  20. swing — music
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. swing — to play on
  23. staff — a stick
  24. perch — the fish

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