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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: perch · charge · file · temple · straw · kid · squash · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. degree — temperature
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. charge — a price
  5. kid — to tease
  6. file — a line of people
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. charge — electricity
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. degree — from a university
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. perch — the fish
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. file — a document
  18. kid — child
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. degree — an amount
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. charge — in control
  23. file — a tool
  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