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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. clip — to cut
  4. court — for sport
  5. march — music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. club — for golf
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bark — to shout
  11. court — of law
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to tire
  15. club — a group
  16. current — electric
  17. march — the month
  18. club — for dancing
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. row — a line
  22. current — happening now
  23. court — of a king
  24. current — of water

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