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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. degree — from a university
  11. face — to point toward
  12. mate — a partner
  13. face — to confront
  14. rest — what's left
  15. face — part of the head
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. degree — an amount
  19. perch — the fish
  20. rest — a break
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mate — to breed
  23. rest — what's left
  24. perch — for a bird

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