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

Word bank: lash · cell · bark · chair · march · court

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. court — for sport
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. march — the month
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. court — of a king
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. court — of law
  14. bark — to shout
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cell — in biology

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