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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: prune · degree · mark · bark · band · capital · season · board

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. band — a ring
  4. mark — a trace
  5. board — a committee
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. degree — temperature
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. band — a music group
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a grade
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. prune — to trim
  16. degree — an amount
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. capital — money
  20. bark — to shout
  21. capital — a city
  22. prune — to trim
  23. degree — from a university
  24. capital — a big letter

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