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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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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. track — to keep track
  3. ground — a position
  4. court — of law
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. bound — tied together
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. march — the month
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. march — music
  14. bound — obliged
  15. track — a path
  16. ground — the earth
  17. track — a song
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. court — of a king
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bound — certain
  23. court — for sport
  24. ground — crushed

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