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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. perch — the fish
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wind — moving air
  15. club — for golf
  16. wind — moving air
  17. club — for dancing
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. club — a group
  22. land — a country
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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