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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · season · perch · last · saw · deal · degree · safe

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. degree — an amount
  3. last — to go on
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. last — finally
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. perch — the fish
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. season — of the year
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. last — final
  15. saw — the tool
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. saw — the tool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. season — in sport
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. deal — to handle
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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