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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: ruler · bark · chip · sharp · hand · season · bat · rush

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. season — in sport
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. hand — help
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — for betting
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. sharp — clever
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bark — to shout
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ruler — for measuring

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