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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 ________________ took off on time.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wake — a trail
  6. perch — the fish
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. degree — from a university
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. shower — rain
  15. track — a path
  16. track — a song
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. plane — a tool
  20. track — to keep track
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. stand — to bear
  24. shower — to wash

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