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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: bat · rash · track · swing · degree · toast · perch · present

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. track — a song
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. swing — to play on
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. present — a gift
  8. rash — hasty
  9. perch — the fish
  10. present — the time now
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. degree — from a university
  13. track — a path
  14. degree — temperature
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. present — there
  18. track — to keep track
  19. degree — an amount
  20. toast — bread
  21. rash — a series
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bat — the animal

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