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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 120 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. degree — temperature
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. degree — an amount
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. rash — hasty
  9. degree — from a university
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. rule — a law
  12. rash — a series
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. chair — a leader
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. rule — government
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. current — of water
  21. perch — the fish
  22. current — electric
  23. cap — a lid
  24. current — happening now

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