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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: bark · mark · march · key · chip · court · tear · squash

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. key — the most important part
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bark — to shout
  5. march — the month
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. court — for sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. court — of law
  14. tear — to rip
  15. key — in music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. court — of a king
  18. march — music
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. chip — to eat
  24. key — for a lock

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