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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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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: degree · object · perch · fork · sharp · cold

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. degree — from a university
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. object — an aim
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. cold — an illness
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cold — not warm
  15. object — a thing
  16. degree — an amount
  17. object — to protest
  18. 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