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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. band — a ring
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. ball — a great time
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. ground — crushed
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. spring — a coil
  11. march — music
  12. band — a music group
  13. spring — of water
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ground — the earth
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. ground — a position
  18. spring — the season
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. march — the month
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — to shout

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