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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · rock · cap · march · foot · tear

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. foot — a measure
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. march — the month
  6. cap — a lid
  7. tear — from crying
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. march — music
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rock — a stone
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a hat
  16. march — the month
  17. rock — music
  18. tear — to rip

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