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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bound — tied together
  5. degree — temperature
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bound — obliged
  10. scale — size or range
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. degree — from a university
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. perch — the fish
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. kick — in football
  21. bound — certain
  22. scale — in music
  23. degree — an amount
  24. kick — with a leg

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