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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
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: wound · rock · cold · cabinet · temple · sharp · bark · dip

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. rock — music
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. rock — a stone
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. sharp — clever
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to sink

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