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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. march — the month
  5. bark — to shout
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. last — finally
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. last — to go on
  10. march — the month
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. row — a line
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. row — to paddle
  23. last — final
  24. row — a quarrel

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