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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bat · chair · can · trunk · degree · bark · swing · patient

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. degree — from a university
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. can — a tin
  12. degree — temperature
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bat — the animal
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. swing — music
  17. degree — an amount
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. chair — a leader
  22. can — a tin
  23. swing — to play on
  24. trunk — of a tree

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