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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: kick · fine · sharp · jam · lash · bark · march · land

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. 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. jam — to spread on bread
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. march — the month
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. march — music
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. land — to come down
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bark — to shout
  13. land — ground
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. kick — in football
  16. fine — high quality
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. land — a country
  19. fine — all right
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. sharp — clever
  23. march — the month
  24. 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