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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: perch · field · bay · stick · wake · degree · fine · clip

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. field — for sport
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. clip — a video
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. wake — a trail
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. field — a subject
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. clip — to cut
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. perch — the fish
  16. degree — from a university
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. clip — for paper
  19. field — farmland
  20. fine — all right
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. fine — high quality
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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