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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: cap · bark · can · craft · cold · roll · sharp · object

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. can — a tin
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. roll — a cake
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. object — an aim
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cold — not warm
  10. craft — a skill
  11. cold — an illness
  12. can — a tin
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. roll — a list
  15. craft — boats
  16. cap — a hat
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — to protest
  19. bark — to shout
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. can — to be able to
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cap — of ice

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