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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 116 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 · row · tube · sharp · coach · hide · bark · fine

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. tube — a container
  7. fine — all right
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. march — the month
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. row — to paddle
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bark — to shout
  19. sharp — clever
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. fine — high quality
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. row — a line

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