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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: rule · bat · march · pass · bark · chip · ball · hand

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. march — music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. ball — a great time
  7. rule — government
  8. march — the month
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. march — the month
  11. bark — to shout
  12. chip — to eat
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rule — a law
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. hand — help
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pass — a permit
  24. ball — a dance

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