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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: bat · sharp · wound · scale · bark · mark · present · mug

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. mark — a trace
  4. present — the time now
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wound — an injury
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. present — a gift
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mug — to rob
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. mug — a face
  21. scale — in music
  22. present — there
  23. mark — a grade
  24. bark — of a tree

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