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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. stock — goods
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. perch — the fish
  9. ground — a position
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. rash — hasty
  12. scale — size or range
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. ground — crushed
  15. sharp — clever
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. degree — an amount
  19. scale — in music
  20. rash — a series
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. ground — the earth
  24. stock — shares

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