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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.

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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: bear · rock · kid · march · bark · bowl · clip · fall

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fall — the season
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. kid — child
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. rock — a stone
  18. clip — a video
  19. rock — music
  20. bark — to shout
  21. kid — to tease
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. fall — to drop
  24. clip — for paper

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