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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 116 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: clip · degree · chair · pop · perch · track · season · cap

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pop — to visit
  6. track — a song
  7. track — a path
  8. cap — of ice
  9. season — of the year
  10. perch — the fish
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cap — a lid
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — soda
  18. cap — a hat
  19. track — to keep track
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — in sport
  22. chair — a leader
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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