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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. perch — the fish
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. degree — temperature
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bank — for money
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bound — obliged
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bank — for money
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. degree — from a university
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bound — certain
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. bank — of a river
  24. clip — to cut

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