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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. last — finally
  4. cue — for pool
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cue — a signal
  7. degree — temperature
  8. kid — child
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cue — a hint
  11. file — a tool
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bass — the fish
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. last — to go on
  17. file — a line of people
  18. kid — to tease
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bass — low music
  22. last — final
  23. squash — to crush
  24. file — a document

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