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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: foot · rock · tear · track · degree · land · perch · ground

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rock — music
  6. track — a path
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. ground — crushed
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. land — ground
  11. ground — the earth
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. land — a country
  16. ground — a position
  17. tear — from crying
  18. perch — the fish
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. land — to come down
  22. foot — a measure
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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