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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
468
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: mate · wound · racket · mark · bark · degree · pop · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chip — for betting
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pop — soda
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mate — to breed
  9. pop — music
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bark — to shout
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pop — to visit
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — a trace
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. degree — from a university
  24. racket — for tennis

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