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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: stem · saw · ground · pitcher · bark · net · content · degree

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. degree — temperature
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. ground — the earth
  7. net — for catching
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. net — after costs
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ground — crushed
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. content — happy
  16. net — in sport
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. ground — a position
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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