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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: chest · tube · bark · content · wave · cabinet · fine · degree

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. degree — temperature
  3. fine — all right
  4. bark — to shout
  5. degree — from a university
  6. fine — high quality
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. content — the amount
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. tube — the underground
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. tube — a container
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. content — happy
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. chest — a box

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