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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 116 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: hand · degree · march · swing · ruler · clip · club · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. club — for dancing
  10. march — the month
  11. degree — from a university
  12. hand — in cards
  13. degree — temperature
  14. swing — music
  15. club — for golf
  16. march — music
  17. club — a group
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hand — help
  24. march — the month

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