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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: pitch · bank · degree · bound · kick · cue · capital · bark

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cue — a hint
  3. degree — an amount
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bank — for money
  8. capital — money
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bound — certain
  11. kick — in football
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — for pool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bank — for money
  18. bound — obliged
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. capital — a city
  21. bark — to shout
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bark — of a tree

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