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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bark — to shout
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — a subject
  8. board — to get on
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. march — the month
  12. field — farmland
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bound — tied together
  15. spring — of water
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. march — the month
  21. spring — the season
  22. bound — certain
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. field — for sport

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