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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 124 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. craft — boats
  3. degree — from a university
  4. game — a match
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. perch — the fish
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. staff — employees
  10. ground — a position
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. craft — a skill
  16. degree — an amount
  17. game — wild animals
  18. staff — employees
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. staff — a stick
  21. shower — rain
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. game — a kind of play

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