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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: lean · bark · chest · degree · mark · fork · perch · object

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. object — a thing
  3. mark — a grade
  4. chest — of your body
  5. object — to protest
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. perch — the fish
  8. lean — thin
  9. chest — of your body
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mark — a trace
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fork — in a road
  16. object — an aim
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chest — a box

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