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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: date · straw · perch · degree · tube · chest · lie · pass

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. date — the fruit
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. tube — a container
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. perch — the fish
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. chest — of your body
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pass — a permit
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — to recline
  23. degree — an amount
  24. 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