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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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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: drill · bark · sharp · stick · snap · march · cell · rock

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. sharp — clever
  7. snap — to click
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bark — to shout
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. march — the month
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cell — in biology
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. march — music
  20. drill — a practice
  21. march — the month
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. drill — army training
  24. rock — to move gently

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