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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 120 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: dip · degree · ball · perch · swing · lie · mate · bark

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. bark — to shout
  6. ball — a dance
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. dip — to sink
  11. mate — a friend
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mate — a partner
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. swing — music
  20. ball — a great time
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. mate — to breed
  23. lie — an untruth
  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