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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pitch — completely
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. current — electric
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. craft — boats
  10. degree — temperature
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. drill — army training
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. current — of water
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. craft — a skill
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. drill — a practice
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. current — happening now

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