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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: club · race · pitcher · ground · pitch · file · bark · key

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. club — a group
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ground — a position
  6. pitch — completely
  7. key — in music
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. file — a tool
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. club — for dancing
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. key — for a lock
  19. club — for golf
  20. file — a document
  21. bark — to shout
  22. key — the most important part
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. file — a line of people

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