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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mark — a trace
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mark — a grade
  5. craft — a skill
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. content — the amount
  9. degree — an amount
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. land — to come down
  13. file — a line of people
  14. craft — boats
  15. file — a document
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. file — a tool
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — music
  20. land — ground
  21. degree — temperature
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. land — a country
  24. content — happy

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