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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: cold · degree · kick · perch · bore · tube · branch · plane

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cold — not warm
  3. degree — temperature
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bore — to drill
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. degree — from a university
  15. tube — the underground
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. plane — a tool
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bore — to tire
  22. kick — in football
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. tube — a container

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