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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: club · ground · wind · wave · land · march · bark · mouse

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. ground — the earth
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for golf
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. club — for dancing
  18. march — the month
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bark — to shout
  23. land — ground
  24. wind — to turn a key

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