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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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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: perch · rule · bat · field · rock · degree · content · mate

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. content — happy
  8. degree — temperature
  9. field — farmland
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rule — a law
  15. field — a subject
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. mate — a friend
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rock — music
  21. bat — the animal
  22. content — the amount
  23. perch — the fish
  24. rock — a stone

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