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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: cell · clip · chair · perch · pitcher · lie · current · degree

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. current — electric
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. lie — to recline
  11. current — happening now
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. clip — for paper
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. current — of water
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cell — a phone
  21. clip — a video
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. perch — the fish
  24. clip — to cut

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