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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · bear · saw · root · court · pitcher · degree · bark

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. court — for sport
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bear — the animal
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. court — of law
  14. degree — an amount
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. root — of a plant
  19. court — of a king
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. degree — temperature

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