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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: face · mouse · leaves · degree · calf · root · perch · deal

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. face — to confront
  3. root — of a plant
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. perch — the fish
  11. face — part of the head
  12. degree — an amount
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. root — of a word
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. degree — temperature
  17. deal — to handle
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. root — the cause
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. face — to point toward

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