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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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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: perch · pass · file · kick · club · degree · tear · chip

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. club — for dancing
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. file — a tool
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. degree — temperature
  9. file — a document
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pass — a permit
  14. file — a line of people
  15. tear — from crying
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. degree — an amount
  21. club — a group
  22. perch — the fish
  23. chip — for betting
  24. club — for golf

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