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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: bark · temple · racket · perch · leaves · hand · safe · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. hand — help
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. degree — temperature
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bark — to shout

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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