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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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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: cell · pass · chair · racket · content · bay · bark · degree

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. content — happy
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pass — a permit
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. content — the amount
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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