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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: trunk · wake · lash · march · degree · perch · leaves · row

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. degree — an amount
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. march — the month
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. perch — the fish
  12. row — to paddle
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. row — a line
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wake — a trail
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. lash — an eyelash

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