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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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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 · coach · field · bark · rest · straw · dip · degree

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. field — for sport
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rest — a break
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rest — what's left
  9. degree — from a university
  10. perch — the fish
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. degree — an amount
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. field — farmland
  15. degree — temperature
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. dip — to sink
  24. rest — what's left

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