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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: game · ground · sharp · lash · net · present · bark · track

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. game — wild animals
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bark — to shout
  9. ground — crushed
  10. game — a match
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. track — a song
  16. ground — a position
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. track — a path
  19. track — to keep track
  20. net — after costs
  21. present — the time now
  22. sharp — clever
  23. ground — the earth
  24. lash — to lash out

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