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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
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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: sharp · net · squash · bat · can · track · court · bark

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. can — a tin
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. court — for sport
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. court — of a king
  9. net — in sport
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. net — for catching
  12. sharp — clever
  13. can — to be able to
  14. squash — the sport
  15. court — of law
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bat — the animal
  18. track — a path
  19. squash — to crush
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bark — to shout
  22. can — a tin
  23. track — a song
  24. net — after costs

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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