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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: present · clip · mate · bark · wind · scale · march · rock

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. march — the month
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. march — the month
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. clip — to cut
  10. scale — size or range
  11. wind — moving air
  12. clip — a video
  13. bark — to shout
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — music
  17. present — a gift
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. present — there
  21. march — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. present — the time now
  24. scale — in music

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