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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: wake · perch · pitcher · mate · row · current · degree · band

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. mate — a friend
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. band — a music group
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — to breed
  14. current — of water
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. row — a line
  17. degree — temperature
  18. current — electric
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. current — happening now

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