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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 116 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: fan · hide · degree · march · pop · bass · perch · last

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. degree — an amount
  4. march — music
  5. last — finally
  6. march — the month
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. last — final
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pop — soda
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pop — to visit
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bass — the fish
  20. pop — music
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. march — the month
  23. last — to go on
  24. degree — from a university

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