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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: sharp · mate · foot · straw · perch · face · bulb · degree

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. mate — a friend
  3. degree — an amount
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. degree — from a university
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. degree — temperature
  10. perch — the fish
  11. face — to confront
  12. mate — to breed
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — a measure
  16. face — part of the head
  17. mate — a partner
  18. face — to point toward
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bulb — for light
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. sharp — clever

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