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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: date · row · perch · pop · ruler · fall · key · degree

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pop — music
  4. perch — the fish
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. date — the fruit
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pop — to visit
  15. row — a line
  16. fall — to drop
  17. degree — from a university
  18. key — for a lock
  19. pop — soda
  20. key — in music
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. degree — an amount
  24. row — to paddle

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