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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: fine · saw · swing · bark · perch · degree · field · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. perch — the fish
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. swing — to play on
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. saw — the tool
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. fine — all right
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. swing — in golf
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — for sport
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bark — to shout
  19. swing — music
  20. fine — high quality
  21. field — farmland
  22. degree — temperature
  23. saw — the tool
  24. field — a subject

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