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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: bound · bark · stock · clip · march · pitcher · bat · date

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bound — obliged
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. march — music
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. clip — a video
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. date — the fruit
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bound — tied together
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bound — certain

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