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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. degree — from a university
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. dip — to sink
  9. perch — the fish
  10. band — a music group
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. file — a tool
  14. bark — to shout
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. wax — to grow
  17. file — a line of people
  18. band — a ring
  19. file — a document
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. degree — an amount
  24. perch — for a bird

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