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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. track — a path
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. degree — from a university
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. pop — music
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. degree — temperature
  12. roll — a cake
  13. court — of law
  14. track — to keep track
  15. perch — the fish
  16. pop — soda
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pop — to visit
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. roll — a list
  23. track — a song
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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