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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · march · present · club · spell · race · scale · leaves

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. present — there
  5. club — a group
  6. scale — size or range
  7. march — the month
  8. scale — in music
  9. march — the month
  10. spell — magic
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. race — humankind
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. club — for golf
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. march — music
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bark — to shout
  21. spell — letters
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. club — for dancing
  24. leaves — of a tree

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