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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. root — of a word
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. perch — the fish
  12. root — of a plant
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chest — a box
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. fork — in a road
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. root — the cause
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pass — a permit

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