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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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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: fall · perch · kid · foot · hand · degree · nail · stand

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. hand — in cards
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. foot — a measure
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. kid — child
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fall — the season
  14. hand — help
  15. perch — the fish
  16. fall — to drop
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. fall — to drop
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. nail — for a hammer

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