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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: bark · pitcher · wound · game · mark · march · fan · sharp

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. march — the month
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mark — a grade
  8. march — music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mark — a trace
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. march — the month
  21. game — a match
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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