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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: mug · bear · degree · bark · press · coach · wake · bulb

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. mug — a face
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bear — the animal
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bark — to shout
  15. press — to push
  16. mug — to rob
  17. degree — from a university
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bulb — for light
  22. mug — a cup
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bulb — of a plant

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