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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: coach · bark · pound · staff · chip · mark · land · march

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. march — music
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. mark — a trace
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bark — to shout
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. march — the month
  16. chip — for betting
  17. mark — a grade
  18. march — the month
  19. staff — employees
  20. land — a country
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. bark — of a tree

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