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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: lash · cue · degree · racket · ground · bark · bear · capital

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cue — for pool
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cue — a hint
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cue — a signal
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. degree — temperature
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. capital — a city
  16. bark — to shout
  17. capital — money
  18. ground — the earth
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bear — the animal
  22. degree — from a university
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — a position

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