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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. present — the time now
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. degree — an amount
  6. present — there
  7. perch — the fish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. degree — temperature
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. chip — for betting
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. squash — to crush
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — to visit
  21. chest — a box
  22. degree — from a university
  23. present — a gift
  24. chip — to eat

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