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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.

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
468
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: bat · craft · march · kick · game · bark · perch · sharp

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. march — the month
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bark — to shout
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. craft — boats
  9. perch — the fish
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bat — the animal
  12. march — music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. march — the month
  19. sharp — clever
  20. kick — in football
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. craft — a skill
  23. kick — with a leg
  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