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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: march · mate · present · pop · perch · temple · degree · cabinet

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. degree — from a university
  3. present — there
  4. pop — soda
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pop — music
  7. degree — temperature
  8. march — the month
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. mate — a partner
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. present — a gift
  15. perch — the fish
  16. march — music
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pop — to visit
  19. degree — an amount
  20. march — the month
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. present — the time now
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. mate — to breed

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