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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bore — to tire
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. march — music
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. march — the month
  12. game — wild animals
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bark — to shout
  15. stock — shares
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. game — a match
  18. bore — to drill
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. march — the month
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. sharp — with an edge

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