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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. last — finally
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. clip — to cut
  10. last — to go on
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. board — a committee
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. clip — a video
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. bark — to shout
  18. march — music
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fork — in a road
  21. board — to get on
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. last — final

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