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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.

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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: wound · mine · last · rock · bark · sharp · key · squash

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. last — final
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. last — finally
  9. rock — a stone
  10. key — in music
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. key — the most important part
  13. squash — to crush
  14. last — to go on
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. key — for a lock
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. rock — music
  22. bark — to shout
  23. squash — the sport
  24. mine — for digging

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