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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. tear — from crying
  3. degree — an amount
  4. board — a committee
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. tear — to rip
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. perch — the fish
  11. kick — in football
  12. can — a tin
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. tear — from crying
  16. degree — temperature
  17. can — a tin
  18. wake — a trail
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. can — to be able to
  21. board — to get on
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. degree — from a university

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