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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bass — low music
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. row — a line
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. degree — an amount
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. capital — money
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. squash — to crush
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rush — to hurry

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