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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: wound · stick · mug · degree · wake · safe · bat · perch

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. perch — the fish
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mug — a face
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mug — a cup
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mug — to rob
  22. degree — temperature
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bat — in an idiom

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