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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: date · nail · degree · bark · bound · branch · chair · track

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. date — the fruit
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bound — certain
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. degree — temperature
  9. branch — a division
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. track — to keep track
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bound — tied together
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. track — a path
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. degree — an amount
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bark — to shout
  24. chair — a professorship

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