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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 120 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: craft · trunk · last · bark · bore · content · bulb · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bore — to tire
  3. last — finally
  4. degree — temperature
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bulb — for light
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bore — to drill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. last — final
  14. degree — an amount
  15. craft — a skill
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. last — to go on
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. content — happy
  22. bulb — for light
  23. craft — boats
  24. content — the 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