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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: can · bass · kick · bark · mug · degree · ground · band

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. ground — crushed
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mug — a face
  6. bark — to shout
  7. band — a ring
  8. mug — a cup
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. can — a tin
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bass — low music
  15. ground — a position
  16. band — a music group
  17. ground — the earth
  18. degree — from a university
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. kick — in football
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bass — the fish
  24. mug — to rob

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