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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: bark · cap · snap · present · last · march · bear · game

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. game — a match
  3. march — music
  4. snap — to click
  5. cap — a hat
  6. present — the time now
  7. last — to go on
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cap — of ice
  10. last — final
  11. cap — a lid
  12. march — the month
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bear — the animal
  18. present — there
  19. march — the month
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. present — a gift
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bear — the animal

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