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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 116 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: bark · court · rush · current · pitch · degree · pop · dip

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. current — of water
  4. rush — hurry
  5. dip — to sink
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pop — music
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. court — of a king
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bark — to shout
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. current — happening now
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. court — of law
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. court — for sport
  22. pop — soda
  23. current — electric
  24. dip — a sauce

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