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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: craft · degree · march · coach · swing · hide · fall · bark

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. degree — from a university
  3. swing — in golf
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. craft — a skill
  9. march — the month
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fall — to drop
  13. swing — music
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. march — music
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bark — to shout
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. march — the month
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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