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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  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. rock — music
  2. spring — a coil
  3. club — for dancing
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spring — the season
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spring — of water
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. club — a group
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rash — a series
  18. perch — the fish
  19. club — for golf
  20. degree — an amount
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. perch — for a bird

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