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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. perch — the fish
  3. shower — to wash
  4. saw — the tool
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. degree — temperature
  9. lie — to recline
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bat — the animal
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. shower — rain
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. saw — the tool

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