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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.

Make a worksheet

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: date · hand · degree · bass · lean · perch · calf · kick

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. lean — thin
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bass — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. degree — from a university
  11. lean — to bend
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. perch — the fish
  16. degree — an amount
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. kick — in football
  21. date — the fruit
  22. hand — help
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bass — low music

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