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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: bank · march · craft · chair · perch · degree

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. march — the month
  9. degree — from a university
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chair — a leader
  14. craft — boats
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. degree — temperature
  17. craft — a skill
  18. march — music

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