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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: bowl · swing · perch · degree · mate · hand · band · object

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. swing — music
  5. mate — a partner
  6. degree — from a university
  7. band — a ring
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. object — an aim
  12. swing — to play on
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. band — a music group
  16. swing — in golf
  17. degree — temperature
  18. object — to protest
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. perch — the fish
  21. degree — an amount
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — to breed
  24. perch — for a bird

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