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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wind — moving air
  4. degree — an amount
  5. date — the fruit
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. board — a committee
  12. wind — moving air
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. board — to get on
  16. snap — to click
  17. branch — a division
  18. rock — a stone
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. degree — from a university
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. degree — temperature
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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