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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 120 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: wound · degree · season · cabinet · bear · net · march · bark

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. march — music
  5. degree — an amount
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. net — in sport
  10. bear — the animal
  11. net — after costs
  12. march — the month
  13. wound — an injury
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — in sport
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. net — for catching
  24. march — the month

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