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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: patient · plane · degree · kick · date · perch · kid · racket

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. kid — child
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. plane — a tool
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. degree — from a university
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. date — the fruit
  13. kick — in football
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. perch — the fish
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. kid — to tease
  18. degree — an amount
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. degree — temperature
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. date — on the calendar

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