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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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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: mark · present · ball · saw · sharp · rest · roll · row

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rest — what's left
  3. roll — a cake
  4. ball — a great time
  5. saw — the tool
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. present — a gift
  8. row — a line
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rest — a break
  11. ball — a dance
  12. row — to paddle
  13. roll — a list
  14. rest — what's left
  15. present — there
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. mark — a trace
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. present — the time now
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. sharp — clever
  22. mark — a grade
  23. saw — the tool
  24. sharp — with an edge

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