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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: march · ground · board · fork · court · bear · bark · cap

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. court — of a king
  7. ground — a position
  8. board — a committee
  9. ground — the earth
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. court — for sport
  13. bear — the animal
  14. court — of law
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. fork — in a road
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. board — to get on
  22. march — music
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. bark — to shout

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