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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. game — a match
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. chair — a leader
  7. march — the month
  8. pound — a weight
  9. file — a document
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. ground — a position
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. file — a line of people
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ground — crushed
  19. file — a tool
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. ground — the earth
  22. march — the month
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ball — a dance

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