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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. march — music
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bulb — for light
  7. spring — the season
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. perch — the fish
  20. march — the month
  21. track — a song
  22. degree — from a university
  23. march — the month
  24. track — a path

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