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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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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: tear · kick · land · chest · fall · present · perch · degree

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. land — ground
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — a country
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kick — in football
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chest — a box
  14. tear — to rip
  15. present — there
  16. degree — temperature
  17. tear — from crying
  18. present — a gift
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tear — from crying
  22. perch — the fish
  23. present — the time now
  24. kick — a thrill

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