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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.

Make a worksheet

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: coach · hide · wind · sharp · bark · net · mine · present

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. net — for catching
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. net — after costs
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. net — in sport
  8. present — a gift
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. mine — for digging
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. present — the time now
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. present — there
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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