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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. last — finally
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bore — to tire
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. file — a tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. perch — the fish
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bore — to drill
  18. last — final
  19. file — a document
  20. craft — a skill
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — completely
  23. last — to go on
  24. perch — for a bird

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