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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: perch · fan · degree · press · swing · cell

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cell — a phone
  4. press — to push
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. press — newspapers
  8. degree — temperature
  9. swing — to play on
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. press — a publisher
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. swing — in golf

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