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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 120 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: degree · prune · arm · rest · game · perch · season · wax

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. rest — a break
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. rest — what's left
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. prune — to trim
  11. season — in sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. season — of the year
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wax — to grow
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. perch — the fish
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. game — a match

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