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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 116 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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. net — for catching
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. net — after costs
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bat — the animal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rash — a series
  22. net — in sport
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bark — of a tree

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