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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: sharp · rash · spell · bat · face · clip · dip · bark

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. clip — for paper
  4. spell — a short time
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rash — hasty
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. face — to confront
  15. rash — a series
  16. bat — the animal
  17. dip — to sink
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. clip — a video
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spell — magic
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. spell — letters

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