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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: degree · hide · wind · date · staff · perch · arm · jam

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. staff — employees
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. staff — employees
  10. degree — from a university
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. degree — temperature
  24. staff — a stick

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