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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. degree — from a university
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chest — a box
  7. perch — the fish
  8. present — there
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chest — of your body
  11. present — a gift
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. present — the time now
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. game — a match
  17. chest — of your body
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. degree — an amount
  22. game — wild animals
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. temple — side of the head

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