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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: squash · jam · foot · bark · perch · degree · straw · wind

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. degree — an amount
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. foot — a measure
  10. squash — to crush
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bark — to shout
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. straw — a straw man
  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