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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bound — certain
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spring — of water
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. perch — the fish
  11. bound — tied together
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. degree — an amount
  14. suit — in cards
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bound — obliged
  18. suit — clothes
  19. race — a contest
  20. suit — to fit
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spring — the season
  24. straw — dry grass

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