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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · swing · rash

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

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. chair — a leader
  8. swing — in golf
  9. degree — from a university
  10. swing — to play on
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. swing — music
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. degree — an amount
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rash — a series
  18. tear — from crying
  19. degree — temperature
  20. tear — from crying
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. mouse — the animal

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