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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bark — to shout
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. hand — help
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. stock — goods
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pitch — completely
  11. clip — for paper
  12. hand — in cards
  13. rush — hurry
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. clip — to cut
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. stock — shares
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. clip — a video

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