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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. suit — clothes
  3. perch — the fish
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. suit — in cards
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. spring — a coil
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. march — music
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bark — to shout
  21. degree — from a university
  22. suit — to fit
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. cell — a phone

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