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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: mark · bark · wound · bass · perch · game · band · sharp

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. game — a match
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. band — a music group
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bass — the fish
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. perch — the fish
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bass — low music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bark — to shout

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