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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 116 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. march — music
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — the month
  10. bark — to shout
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. march — the month
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pass — a permit
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. fork — in a road
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. scale — in music

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