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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: bark · patient · last · object · club · mug · sharp · bat

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. last — final
  5. bark — to shout
  6. object — an aim
  7. club — for dancing
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. club — for golf
  13. last — finally
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. object — to protest
  19. last — to go on
  20. mug — to rob
  21. club — a group
  22. mug — a cup
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. object — a thing

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