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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: game · perch · pop · bear · fan · nail · stem · degree

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. degree — from a university
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. stem — to come from
  9. perch — the fish
  10. degree — temperature
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pop — music
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. degree — an amount
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. pop — to visit
  17. game — a match
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bear — the animal
  22. game — wild animals
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bear — the animal

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