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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 · bark · chip · kid · last · fan · season · land

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. kid — child
  3. last — finally
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. land — ground
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. degree — temperature
  10. land — to come down
  11. chip — for betting
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chip — to eat
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. land — a country
  24. season — in sport

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