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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: chest · straw · degree · bore · clip · perch · net · leaves

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. net — for catching
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. chest — of your body
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bore — to drill
  10. clip — to cut
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bore — to tire
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. clip — a video
  19. chest — a box
  20. perch — the fish
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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