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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: mark · rest · perch · shower · arm · straw · degree · key

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. shower — to wash
  3. degree — from a university
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. key — for a lock
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. key — the most important part
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. key — in music
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. shower — rain
  13. rest — a break
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mark — a trace
  17. degree — an amount
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. degree — temperature
  22. perch — the fish
  23. rest — what's left
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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