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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 · perch · leaves · snap · chair · bound · bat

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. bound — obliged
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bat — the animal
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. bound — tied together
  15. perch — the fish
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bound — certain
  23. snap — to click
  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