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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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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bark — to shout
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rash — a series
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. chair — a leader
  16. stock — shares
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. snap — to click
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stock — goods
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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