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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: dip · race · march · bark · nail · coach · mark · hand

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. dip — to sink
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. march — the month
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. race — the arms race
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. march — music
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. race — a contest
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mark — a trace
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. race — humankind
  16. hand — help
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bark — to shout
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. mark — a grade
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. hand — in cards

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