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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mine — for digging
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rest — what's left
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. race — a contest
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wake — a trail
  11. fine — high quality
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. race — humankind
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. rest — a break
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. perch — the fish
  21. fine — all right
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rest — what's left

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