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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 120 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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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 · ground · foot · drill · bark · chip · march · chest

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. march — the month
  3. bark — to shout
  4. ground — a position
  5. chest — a box
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. march — music
  11. drill — a practice
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. ground — crushed
  15. chip — for betting
  16. foot — a measure
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — the month
  21. chest — of your body
  22. drill — army training
  23. present — there
  24. foot — the bottom

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