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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 116 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.

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: cell · bark · march · sharp · deal · file · current · bat

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bat — the animal
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. current — electric
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. march — the month
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. current — happening now
  9. march — music
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. current — of water
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cell — in biology
  17. march — the month
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. sharp — clever
  20. file — a document
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. file — a tool

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