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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: firm · bat · land · bark · spell · degree · pop · perch

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pop — music
  6. degree — temperature
  7. firm — decided
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. land — a country
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. spell — letters
  12. bat — the animal
  13. firm — steady
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. firm — a company
  16. degree — from a university
  17. land — ground
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pop — to visit
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pop — soda
  24. land — to come down

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