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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: bat · bore · root · degree · bound · bark · bear · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bark — to shout
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. season — in sport
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. season — of the year
  17. root — the cause
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. root — of a word
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bound — certain
  24. root — of a plant

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