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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.

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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: game · bark · sharp · wake · present · date · shower · rock

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. present — there
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wake — a trail
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. shower — to wash
  15. present — a gift
  16. shower — rain
  17. bark — to shout
  18. date — the fruit
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. sharp — clever
  22. game — a match
  23. present — the time now
  24. game — wild animals

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