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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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 — the month
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. march — music
  7. row — a line
  8. saw — the tool
  9. row — to paddle
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bear — the animal
  12. last — finally
  13. tube — the underground
  14. march — the month
  15. last — to go on
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. last — final
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bark — to shout
  22. saw — the tool
  23. tube — a container
  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