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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: straw · kick · saw · staff · perch · degree · mate · spell

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. mate — to breed
  3. saw — the tool
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. degree — an amount
  7. staff — employees
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. spell — magic
  12. degree — temperature
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mate — a friend
  15. spell — a short time
  16. saw — the tool
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — in football
  19. mate — a partner
  20. staff — employees
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. degree — from a university
  23. staff — a stick
  24. spell — letters

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