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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. hand — in cards
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. degree — an amount
  8. foot — a measure
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. degree — temperature
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. date — the fruit
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football
  19. hand — help
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. degree — from a university
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. foot — the bottom

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