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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bore — to drill
  5. sharp — clever
  6. last — finally
  7. mark — a grade
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. mark — a trace
  15. fine — all right
  16. rest — what's left
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. last — final
  19. bore — to tire
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. last — to go on
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. rest — a break

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