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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: temple · perch · chest · arm · deal · straw · degree · mate

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. degree — from a university
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a friend
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. chest — of your body
  13. degree — an amount
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. mate — a partner
  18. degree — temperature
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. chest — a box
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. deal — to handle
  24. arm — a part of something

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