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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 120 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: degree · content · snap · mark · plane · perch · mouse · kid

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. snap — to click
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. mark — a trace
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. degree — temperature
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kid — to tease
  11. content — the amount
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. plane — a tool
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mark — a grade
  19. perch — the fish
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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