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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. march — the month
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. spring — the season
  9. board — to get on
  10. march — the month
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. board — a committee
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. ground — the earth
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. pass — a permit
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. row — a line
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. march — music
  24. row — a quarrel

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