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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 120 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 · march · present · club · spell · race

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — a short time
  5. present — there
  6. club — for golf
  7. march — music
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. race — humankind
  10. club — for dancing
  11. spell — letters
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. present — a gift
  14. bark — to shout
  15. club — a group
  16. race — a contest
  17. present — the time now
  18. race — the arms race

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