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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: rock · pound · straw · spring · march · bark · file · bound

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. file — a document
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. march — music
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. march — the month
  11. pound — a weight
  12. rock — music
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bound — certain
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. march — the month
  20. bound — obliged
  21. file — a tool
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rock — a stone

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