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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mate — to breed
  5. net — in sport
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. object — to protest
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. game — a match
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. net — for catching
  15. object — a thing
  16. degree — from a university
  17. game — wild animals
  18. object — an aim
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. degree — temperature
  23. net — after costs
  24. perch — the fish

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