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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. stock — goods
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — a container
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. rock — music
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bark — to shout
  13. net — after costs
  14. stock — shares
  15. net — for catching
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. rock — a stone
  19. face — to confront
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. net — in sport
  24. face — part of the head

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