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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.

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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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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: sharp · rest · cold · bark · drill · bowl

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. sharp — clever
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bark — to shout
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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