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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: bore · game · march · degree · bark · cabinet · spring · branch

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. branch — a division
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. bark — to shout
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. spring — the season
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bore — to tire
  17. spring — of water
  18. degree — from a university
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. march — music
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. game — a match

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