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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.

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: season · pitcher · march · pop · bark · saw · chest · sharp

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. march — music
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pop — soda
  9. chest — of your body
  10. march — the month
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pop — music
  13. season — of the year
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. saw — the tool
  18. chest — a box
  19. march — the month
  20. season — in sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pop — to visit

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