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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: bat · march · bark · board · clip · last · scale · pass

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bark — to shout
  4. clip — a video
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. scale — in music
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. march — music
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bat — the animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — a permit
  16. last — finally
  17. board — a committee
  18. last — final
  19. clip — for paper
  20. march — the month
  21. board — to get on
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. march — the month
  24. scale — for weighing

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