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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  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. sharp — exactly
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. object — to protest
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. object — a thing
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fine — all right
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. object — an aim
  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