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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. band — a ring
  3. court — of law
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. march — music
  10. court — of a king
  11. march — the month
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wound — an injury
  14. prune — to trim
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cap — of ice
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mark — a grade
  19. band — a music group
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. court — for sport
  23. march — the month
  24. cap — a hat

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