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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 · wake · spell · degree · leaves · hide · bat · branch

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. branch — a division
  14. bat — the animal
  15. spell — letters
  16. degree — temperature
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. leaves — of a tree

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