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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. degree — an amount
  5. rash — hasty
  6. hand — help
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. object — an aim
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. object — to protest
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. ground — crushed
  14. hand — in cards
  15. rash — a series
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bark — to shout
  18. ground — a position
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. ground — the earth
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. object — a thing
  24. degree — from a university

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