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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.

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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: wound · bound · mate · degree · file · face · perch · straw

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wound — an injury
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bound — obliged
  6. file — a tool
  7. face — part of the head
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bound — tied together
  12. file — a line of people
  13. face — to confront
  14. bound — certain
  15. file — a document
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. degree — from a university
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wound — an injury
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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