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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. march — the month
  3. present — a gift
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. court — of law
  8. march — the month
  9. court — for sport
  10. present — there
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bound — obliged
  13. key — the most important part
  14. present — the time now
  15. court — of a king
  16. key — in music
  17. key — for a lock
  18. march — music
  19. bound — certain
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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