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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: chest · hide · bark · stem · wake · march · degree · fork

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wake — a trail
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fork — in a road
  6. chest — a box
  7. march — music
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. stem — to come from
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. march — the month
  18. degree — an amount
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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