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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · arm · degree · clip · stem · wake · net · lean

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. perch — the fish
  4. net — in sport
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. degree — temperature
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. lean — thin
  16. net — after costs
  17. lean — to bend
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. stem — to come from
  22. net — for catching
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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