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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 · safe · row · degree · bat · spell · band · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. band — a ring
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. present — the time now
  5. band — a music group
  6. row — a line
  7. degree — from a university
  8. row — to paddle
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. degree — temperature
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. degree — an amount
  16. present — a gift
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. bat — the animal
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. perch — the fish
  24. bat — for baseball

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