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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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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: degree · wind · spell · march · bark · club

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spell — magic
  3. march — music
  4. wind — moving air
  5. march — the month
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — an amount
  8. club — a group
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. spell — letters
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. club — for golf
  16. degree — from a university
  17. spell — a short time
  18. club — for dancing

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