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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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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: rash · bark · net · sharp · hide · tube · club · ball

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. ball — a great time
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. club — a group
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bark — to shout
  11. club — for golf
  12. net — in sport
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. tube — the underground
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. net — for catching
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. tube — a container
  22. club — for dancing
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. net — after costs

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