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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. drill — the tool
  3. march — music
  4. drill — army training
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. spell — a short time
  7. track — to keep track
  8. key — the most important part
  9. drill — a practice
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bark — to shout
  12. key — for a lock
  13. row — a line
  14. march — the month
  15. spell — letters
  16. row — to paddle
  17. spell — magic
  18. track — a song
  19. club — for dancing
  20. track — a path
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. march — the month
  23. key — in music
  24. club — for golf

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