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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: can · perch · band · degree · march · wound · season · sharp

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. march — music
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. season — of the year
  12. sharp — clever
  13. season — in sport
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — from a university
  16. can — a tin
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. can — a tin
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. march — the month

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