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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: hand · coach · nail · bark · arm · degree · bank · bound

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bank — for money
  5. bound — tied together
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bank — for money
  10. bark — to shout
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bound — certain
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bound — obliged
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. degree — from a university
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bark — of a tree

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