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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 120 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: pitch · bark · drill · arm · current · degree · tear · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. current — of water
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitch — completely
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bark — to shout
  11. drill — army training
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. land — ground
  16. tear — to rip
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. drill — the tool
  20. degree — temperature
  21. land — a country
  22. current — electric
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. current — happening now

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