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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. perch — the fish
  3. degree — temperature
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — to protest
  7. last — finally
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wind — moving air
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. drill — the tool
  14. swing — to play on
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. last — to go on
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. object — a thing
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. drill — army training
  23. degree — from a university
  24. last — final

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