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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · fall · perch · degree · pit · swing · mark · dip

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. fall — the season
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mine — for digging
  7. fall — to drop
  8. swing — in golf
  9. perch — the fish
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. degree — from a university
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. degree — an amount
  20. pit — in a race
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mark — a grade
  23. pit — a hole
  24. fall — to drop

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