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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 120 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: degree · perch · wave · face · shower · bulb · pitch · row

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. face — part of the head
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. row — a line
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. pitch — completely
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. shower — rain
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. row — to paddle
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. degree — from a university
  19. shower — to wash
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. degree — an amount
  24. perch — the fish

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