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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: content · cue · lash · temple · degree · field · bat · perch

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. content — the amount
  2. perch — the fish
  3. degree — temperature
  4. field — for sport
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. degree — from a university
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cue — for pool
  10. content — happy
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. bat — the animal
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cue — a hint
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cue — a signal
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bat — for baseball
  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