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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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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 · kid · stem · bark · ruler · racket · toast · pound

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. kid — to tease
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. march — the month
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. march — the month
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. pound — a weight
  14. march — music
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. kid — child
  17. bark — to shout
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. toast — bread
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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