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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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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: bat · perch · row · nail · pound · degree · game · safe

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bat — the animal
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. row — a line
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. game — a match
  19. perch — the fish
  20. game — wild animals
  21. row — to paddle
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pound — a weight
  24. nail — on a finger

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