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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: perch · spell · patient · current · cap · shower · degree · press

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cap — a hat
  8. spell — magic
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. press — to push
  11. degree — from a university
  12. current — of water
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. current — happening now
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. cap — of ice
  18. perch — the fish
  19. current — electric
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cap — a lid
  24. spell — letters

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