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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. last — to go on
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. spring — a coil
  5. march — the month
  6. scale — in music
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. drill — army training
  9. spring — of water
  10. march — music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — electricity
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. march — the month
  16. last — final
  17. spring — the season
  18. bark — to shout
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. charge — in control
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. drill — the tool
  24. last — finally

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