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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mate · land · coach · perch · bat · degree · calf · bore

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bore — to tire
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. land — a country
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. perch — the fish
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. land — to come down
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bat — the animal
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bore — to drill
  21. land — ground
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. mate — a partner
  24. coach — a trainer

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