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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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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: degree · bound · cell · bark · tear · ruler · pitch · last

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cell — in biology
  9. last — finally
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cell — a phone
  15. tear — to rip
  16. last — final
  17. pitch — completely
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. tear — from crying
  23. degree — from a university
  24. last — to go on

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