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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: craft · bark · chair · swing · march · row

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. craft — a skill
  4. bark — to shout
  5. march — the month
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. chair — a leader
  9. swing — to play on
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. swing — in golf
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. row — a line
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. swing — music
  18. craft — boats

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