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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: roll · degree · perch · patient · net · bass · saw · wound

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. net — after costs
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. saw — the tool
  8. net — in sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bass — the fish
  11. perch — the fish
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. net — for catching
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bass — low music
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. saw — the tool
  22. roll — a list
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wound — an injury

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