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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. object — an aim
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. ground — a position
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. file — a document
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — to protest
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. content — happy
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mark — a grade
  19. degree — from a university
  20. file — a tool
  21. mark — a trace
  22. ground — crushed
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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