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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.

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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 · root · lie · chest · mate · kid · ball · degree

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. root — of a plant
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. degree — temperature
  8. perch — the fish
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mate — to breed
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. degree — from a university
  17. root — of a word
  18. degree — an amount
  19. root — the cause
  20. ball — a dance
  21. kid — child
  22. chest — a box
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. chest — of your body

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