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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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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: perch · jam · press · kid · row · bark · deal · degree

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. deal — to handle
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. degree — from a university
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. row — a line
  10. degree — an amount
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. press — newspapers
  13. kid — to tease
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. press — to push
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. kid — child
  18. row — to paddle
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. degree — temperature
  23. press — a publisher
  24. perch — for a bird

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