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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · face · sharp · land · bark · kick

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. 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. bark — a dog's sound
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. land — to come down
  5. net — after costs
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bark — to shout
  8. net — in sport
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. face — to confront
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. land — a country
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. land — ground
  15. net — for catching
  16. face — to point toward
  17. kick — in football
  18. 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