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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: sharp · bark · pitcher · stock · net · kick · club · chest

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bark — to shout
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. chest — a box
  7. club — for golf
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. kick — in football
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. club — for dancing
  23. chest — of your body
  24. club — a group

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