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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. craft — boats
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. degree — from a university
  9. kick — in football
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. craft — a skill
  13. degree — an amount
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. ground — a position
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitch — completely
  24. coach — a trainer

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