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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — temperature
  6. face — to point toward
  7. degree — from a university
  8. face — part of the head
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. face — to confront
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bark — to shout
  20. game — a match
  21. ground — the earth
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cabinet — ministers

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