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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. club — for golf
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bound — obliged
  5. perch — the fish
  6. degree — an amount
  7. club — for dancing
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bound — certain
  11. degree — from a university
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wind — moving air
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. file — a tool
  19. club — a group
  20. file — a document
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. bound — tied together

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