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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: game · bark · bore · snap · degree · rock · chest · branch

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. branch — a division
  3. rock — a stone
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bark — to shout
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. game — a match
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. chest — a box
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. snap — to click
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rock — music
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bore — to drill
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. chest — of your body
  24. game — wild animals

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