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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: roll · perch · bound · wound · rush · date · degree · pit

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. degree — an amount
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bound — obliged
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. date — the fruit
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. wound — an injury
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bound — certain
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. roll — a cake
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bound — tied together
  19. wound — an injury
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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