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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. degree — an amount
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. track — to keep track
  7. foot — a measure
  8. perch — the fish
  9. can — a tin
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. track — a song
  14. can — to be able to
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. degree — from a university
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bat — the animal
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. track — a path
  24. degree — temperature

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