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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: perch · object · present · last · track · stock · degree · hand

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. track — a song
  5. degree — an amount
  6. hand — in cards
  7. object — a thing
  8. stock — shares
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. present — there
  11. hand — help
  12. degree — from a university
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. present — the time now
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — an aim
  17. track — a path
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. track — to keep track
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stock — goods
  22. present — a gift
  23. last — to go on
  24. perch — the fish

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