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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: object · bark · bat · sharp · season · snap · pop · row

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. season — in sport
  4. pop — soda
  5. object — a thing
  6. season — of the year
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bat — the animal
  9. object — an aim
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. row — a line
  12. pop — music
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. object — to protest
  15. snap — to click
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bat — for baseball

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