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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: kid · mine · perch · band · foot · degree · trunk · chest

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. degree — from a university
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. degree — temperature
  9. band — a ring
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. degree — an amount
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kid — child
  14. mine — for digging
  15. foot — a measure
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chest — of your body
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. perch — the fish
  23. band — a music group
  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