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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. staff — a stick
  3. march — music
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bass — low music
  8. kid — child
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — in sport
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. march — the month
  14. net — for catching
  15. staff — employees
  16. march — the month
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bark — to shout
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wind — moving air
  22. staff — employees
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — the fish

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