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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: hide · degree · pitcher · bark · firm · rash · clip · dip

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. firm — a company
  4. clip — a video
  5. rash — hasty
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rash — a series
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. dip — to sink
  10. degree — an amount
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. degree — from a university
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. firm — decided
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bark — to shout
  23. firm — steady
  24. clip — for paper

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