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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: net · march · plane · bark · mark · band · hand · pass

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. hand — in cards
  3. band — a music group
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. mark — a trace
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. bark — to shout
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. band — a ring
  13. net — in sport
  14. hand — help
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. march — the month
  18. plane — a tool
  19. net — for catching
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. net — after costs
  22. mark — a grade
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. march — 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