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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: stick · perch · rest · kid · rash · safe · wound · degree

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wound — an injury
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. rash — hasty
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rest — a break
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. rash — a series
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rest — what's left
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. degree — from a university
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. safe — out of danger

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