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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 116 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. firm — a company
  4. land — a country
  5. perch — the fish
  6. firm — steady
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. degree — an amount
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. land — to come down
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. degree — temperature
  16. season — in sport
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — for digging
  19. degree — from a university
  20. land — ground
  21. season — of the year
  22. kid — child
  23. firm — decided
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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