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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: bat · court · cue · mark · nail · root · degree · perch

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. perch — the fish
  6. court — of a king
  7. root — of a plant
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cue — a signal
  10. root — of a word
  11. degree — from a university
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. court — for sport
  14. cue — for pool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. root — the cause
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. court — of law
  20. cue — a hint
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. mark — a grade
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mark — a trace

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