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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · branch · cap · fine · degree · march · bark · coach

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. degree — temperature
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. fine — high quality
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cap — a lid
  15. branch — a division
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — of ice

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