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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bass — low music
  5. bat — the animal
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. present — the time now
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bark — to shout
  13. plane — a tool
  14. present — there
  15. bass — the fish
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. present — a gift
  19. march — the month
  20. race — humankind
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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