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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: shower · roll · march · perch · can · spring · degree · fork

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. spring — a coil
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fork — in a road
  6. march — the month
  7. can — a tin
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. march — music
  11. can — a tin
  12. march — the month
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — a cake
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. shower — to wash
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. spring — the season
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. spring — of water
  22. shower — rain
  23. perch — the fish
  24. can — to be able to

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