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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 124 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bark — to shout
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. net — after costs
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. staff — a stick
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. sharp — clever
  12. scale — in music
  13. staff — employees
  14. ball — a dance
  15. season — in sport
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. staff — employees
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wake — a trail
  22. ball — a great time
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — of the year

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