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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: row · content · degree · cabinet · present · press · bark · perch

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. press — a publisher
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. present — a gift
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. present — there
  10. content — happy
  11. perch — the fish
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. row — a line
  16. bark — to shout
  17. press — newspapers
  18. present — the time now
  19. press — to push
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — the amount
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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