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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: march · cell · bat · sharp · bear · bowl · bark · pop

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. march — the month
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bear — the animal
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pop — music
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pop — soda
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. sharp — exactly

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