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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.

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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: bark · branch · coach · band · dip · degree · court · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. court — for sport
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bark — to shout
  16. band — a music group
  17. dip — to sink
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. band — a ring
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — a division
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. chip — for betting

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