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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: pit · straw · degree · lash · march · pop · perch · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. degree — an amount
  3. perch — the fish
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. degree — from a university
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pop — music
  9. degree — temperature
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. march — the month
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. march — the month
  15. pop — to visit
  16. march — music
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pop — soda
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pit — a hole

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