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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: march · pass · game · cold · bark · wake · dip · stick

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bark — to shout
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. game — a match
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. dip — to sink
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. pass — a permit
  18. wake — a trail
  19. march — music
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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