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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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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: pop · racket · squash · degree · bark · charge · field · mark

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. squash — to crush
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. degree — temperature
  6. charge — in control
  7. pop — music
  8. degree — from a university
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. mark — a trace
  11. charge — a price
  12. mark — a grade
  13. bark — to shout
  14. charge — electricity
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. squash — the sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pop — soda
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. pop — to visit
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. squash — the vegetable

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