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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 124 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. stand — to bear
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. sharp — clever
  8. file — a document
  9. staff — a stick
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bark — to shout
  13. staff — employees
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. degree — an amount
  16. staff — employees
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. file — a tool
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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