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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 · lean · root · pound · pass · ground · march · court

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. march — music
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. root — of a word
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pound — a weight
  11. court — of a king
  12. pass — a permit
  13. court — for sport
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. march — the month
  16. ground — a position
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. root — the cause
  20. lean — to bend
  21. court — of law
  22. march — the month
  23. root — of a plant
  24. ground — the earth

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