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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  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 — music
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. swing — music
  4. march — the month
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. net — after costs
  9. swing — to play on
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. march — the month
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. net — for catching
  16. swing — in golf
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. net — in sport
  20. degree — temperature
  21. foot — a measure
  22. degree — from a university
  23. foot — the bottom
  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