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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bark — to shout
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. dip — to sink
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mark — a grade
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bound — obliged
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rash — a series

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