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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cap — of ice
  3. fine — all right
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. cap — a hat
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. drill — a practice
  10. fine — high quality
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. chip — for betting
  15. drill — army training
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cap — a lid
  18. drill — the tool
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. degree — temperature
  21. perch — the fish
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. chair — a leader

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