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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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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: pop · cabinet · court · degree · hide · field · plane · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. degree — an amount
  6. court — for sport
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. perch — the fish
  9. court — of law
  10. pop — music
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. plane — a tool
  13. field — a subject
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. court — of a king
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. field — farmland
  20. pop — soda
  21. field — for sport
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. pop — to visit

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