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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: degree · march · coach · cell · wave · bark

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. degree — an amount
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cell — a phone
  12. march — the month
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. march — music
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. march — the month

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