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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. board — a committee
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. drill — the tool
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. current — of water
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. field — a subject
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. drill — a practice
  17. current — electric
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. current — happening now
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. board — to get on
  24. drill — army training

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