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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rock — music
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bat — the animal
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. charge — a price
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. row — a line
  17. scale — size or range
  18. charge — in control
  19. scale — in music
  20. row — to paddle
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. sharp — clever

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