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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: perch · degree · bulb · lean · snap · mine · coach · plane

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bulb — for light
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. plane — a tool
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. degree — from a university
  9. snap — to click
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. degree — temperature
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bulb — for light
  17. mine — for digging
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. lean — to bend
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mine — belonging to me

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