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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · wave · bark · bear · racket · hand · last · content

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. sharp — clever
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. last — to go on
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bark — to shout
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. last — final
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. last — finally
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bear — the animal

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