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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: pass · bay · kick · spring · wind · fall · march · bark

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pass — a permit
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. spring — the season
  8. march — the month
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. kick — in football
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. march — music
  15. spring — of water
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. fall — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. march — the month
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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