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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.

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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 · bear · dip · mate · land · perch · sharp · bat

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. land — a country
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bear — the animal
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. sharp — clever
  14. mate — to breed
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mark — a trace
  19. bat — the animal
  20. land — ground
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. dip — to sink
  24. land — to come down

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