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

Word bank: pitch · snap · cap · sharp · bark · kick · lie · degree

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pitch — completely
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. cap — a hat
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. sharp — clever
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. kick — in football
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. degree — from a university
  15. lie — to recline
  16. degree — an amount
  17. cap — a lid
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. snap — to click
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cap — of ice
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. lie — an untruth

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