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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: drill · race · chest · bark · degree · leaves · bear · coach

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. race — a contest
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. race — humankind
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bear — the animal
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. drill — a practice
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. drill — army training
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chest — of your body
  20. drill — the tool
  21. race — the arms race
  22. chest — a box
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. degree — temperature

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