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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: perch · file · stem · ground · straw · deal · degree · racket

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. perch — the fish
  3. deal — to handle
  4. ground — a position
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. file — a tool
  7. ground — the earth
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. stem — to come from
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. degree — temperature
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. ground — crushed

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