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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 120 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: ball · perch · swing · straw · trunk · degree · bowl · kid

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. swing — in golf
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. perch — the fish
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. ball — a great time
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. swing — music
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. ball — a dance
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. ball — a round shape

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