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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: bark · march · rush · arm · net · sharp · wake · straw

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. net — for catching
  4. march — music
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rush — hurry
  9. march — the month
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. march — the month
  13. wake — a trail
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — clever
  16. net — in sport
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. arm — a part of something

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