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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: degree · row · drill · arm · lean · tear · perch · straw

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. drill — the tool
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tear — to rip
  5. row — to paddle
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. degree — an amount
  9. row — a line
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. drill — army training
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. lean — to bend
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. perch — the fish
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. drill — a practice
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. degree — temperature
  24. straw — a straw man

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