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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: band · rest · degree · kick · wake · snap · saw · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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. snap — to snap out of it
  4. band — a music group
  5. perch — the fish
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. kick — in football
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. saw — the tool
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rest — what's left
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. rest — a break
  20. snap — to click
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rest — what's left
  23. saw — the tool
  24. band — a ring

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