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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: bark · land · wind · arm · net · cabinet · date · sharp

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. land — to come down
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. net — in sport
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. net — after costs
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. wind — moving air
  12. date — the fruit
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. net — for catching
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. sharp — clever

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