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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: land · bowl · degree · branch · bark · kick · fan · chip

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. chip — for betting
  4. land — to come down
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. degree — from a university
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. land — a country
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. kick — in football
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. land — ground
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chip — to eat
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bark — to shout
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fan — a supporter

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