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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. current — electric
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. band — a music group
  5. land — to come down
  6. band — a ring
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. roll — a list
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wound — an injury
  11. roll — a cake
  12. wound — an injury
  13. current — of water
  14. land — a country
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. march — the month
  17. land — ground
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. current — happening now
  23. march — the month
  24. bark — to shout

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