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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. last — finally
  3. season — of the year
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. net — for catching
  6. march — the month
  7. court — of a king
  8. last — to go on
  9. season — in sport
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. net — in sport
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. court — of law
  18. march — the month
  19. court — for sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bark — to shout
  22. net — after costs
  23. last — final
  24. spring — a coil

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