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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: perch · kick · fan · stem · degree · rest · last · saw

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. saw — the tool
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. saw — the tool
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rest — what's left
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. degree — from a university
  21. last — final
  22. perch — the fish
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. fan — to cool the air

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