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

Word bank: band · bay · march · perch · cell · degree

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. march — the month
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. degree — temperature
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. degree — an amount
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. degree — from a university
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. perch — the fish
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music

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