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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: degree · foot · rash · bark · tear · bear · perch · roll

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. roll — a list
  3. roll — a cake
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. foot — a measure
  8. bark — to shout
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rash — a series
  11. bear — the animal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. tear — from crying
  18. perch — the fish
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bear — the animal
  24. foot — the bottom

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