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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: bark · band · arm · spring · degree · racket · pound · suit

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. suit — clothes
  6. degree — from a university
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. suit — to fit
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spring — a coil
  11. degree — temperature
  12. spring — the season
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. suit — in cards
  17. degree — an amount
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. spring — of water
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pound — a weight
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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