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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.

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: march · row · calf · bark · bay · clip · patient · can

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. can — a tin
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. can — to be able to
  7. clip — for paper
  8. row — a line
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. clip — to cut
  16. row — to paddle
  17. can — a tin
  18. march — the month
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. clip — a video
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. patient — a sick person

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