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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: court · row · dip · stick · perch · degree · net · land

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. net — for catching
  4. land — ground
  5. net — after costs
  6. perch — the fish
  7. court — of law
  8. row — a line
  9. dip — to sink
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. land — to come down
  14. court — of a king
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. degree — an amount
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. degree — temperature
  19. net — in sport
  20. court — for sport
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. land — a country

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