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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: bowl · perch · degree · rest · march · spring · stick · land

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. spring — a coil
  3. degree — from a university
  4. march — the month
  5. spring — the season
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. land — ground
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. perch — the fish
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. degree — temperature
  15. land — a country
  16. march — the month
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. rest — what's left
  19. march — music
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. spring — of water
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. land — to come down

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