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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · court · band · wound · saw · face · degree · craft

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. court — for sport
  3. perch — the fish
  4. wound — an injury
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. saw — the tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. craft — a skill
  9. court — of a king
  10. wound — an injury
  11. degree — an amount
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. band — a ring
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. craft — boats
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. band — a music group
  20. saw — the tool
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. court — of law
  24. face — part of the head

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