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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bark — to shout
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. chest — a box
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. chest — of your body

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