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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 120 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bank — of a river
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bank — for money
  9. wake — a trail
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. prune — to trim
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. squash — to crush
  14. perch — the fish
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. bank — for money
  21. kick — in football
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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