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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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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: hide · degree · staff · march · sharp · branch · mouse · bark

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. staff — employees
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. staff — a stick
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. march — music
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. staff — employees
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. sharp — clever
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. march — the month

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