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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: degree · bark · kick · bound · present · chair · field · clip

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bound — certain
  4. clip — to cut
  5. field — for sport
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — the time now
  8. degree — temperature
  9. kick — in football
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. clip — for paper
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bark — to shout
  15. field — farmland
  16. bound — tied together
  17. clip — a video
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. field — a subject
  22. degree — from a university
  23. present — there
  24. kick — with a leg

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