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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: straw · craft · bulb · bark · coach · rash · degree · ground

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. ground — a position
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. ground — the earth
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. craft — boats
  15. bulb — for light
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. craft — a skill
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. rash — a series
  20. degree — from a university
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ground — crushed
  24. degree — an amount

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