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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. row — a line
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mark — a grade
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. degree — an amount
  8. clip — to cut
  9. row — to paddle
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mark — a trace
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. clip — a video

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