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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: degree · stem · pitch · straw · temple · band · mouse · perch

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stem — to come from
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. band — a ring
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — completely
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. degree — temperature
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. perch — the fish
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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