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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.

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: sharp · roll · march · bark · wave · wound · leaves · cell

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wound — an injury
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. roll — a cake
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cell — a phone
  10. march — the month
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bark — to shout
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. roll — a list
  21. sharp — clever
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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