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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: perch · current · stem · degree · tear · chest · bank · row

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. tear — from crying
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tear — from crying
  5. row — a line
  6. tear — to rip
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bank — for money
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. current — electric
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bank — of a river
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bank — for money
  18. chest — of your body
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chest — a box
  21. degree — temperature
  22. current — happening now
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. current — of water

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