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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: land · season · perch · face · degree · bulb · nail · bark

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  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. nail — for a hammer
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bark — to shout
  6. degree — temperature
  7. land — a country
  8. perch — the fish
  9. face — to confront
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. land — to come down
  15. degree — an amount
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. face — to point toward
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. land — ground
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. face — part of the head
  23. nail — on a finger
  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