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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. perch — the fish
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. degree — from a university
  8. suit — to fit
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. suit — clothes
  11. cap — a lid
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. cap — a hat
  17. plane — a tool
  18. toast — bread
  19. cap — of ice
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. suit — in cards
  23. degree — temperature
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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