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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: mine · wind · stock · wake · season · pass · sharp · bark

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. stock — shares
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pass — a permit
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. season — in sport
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. stock — goods
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. season — of the year

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