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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 116 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: tear · bark · coach · degree · mouse · chair

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. degree — from a university
  12. tear — to rip
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. tear — from crying
  18. degree — temperature

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