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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. craft — a skill
  6. spring — of water
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. spring — the season
  9. march — the month
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. degree — temperature
  13. spring — a coil
  14. march — music
  15. rash — a series
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — in music
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — boats
  22. scale — size or range
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rash — hasty

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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