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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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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: pitch · march · file · snap · bark · trunk · present · pound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. present — a gift
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. snap — to click
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bark — to shout
  12. present — the time now
  13. pitch — completely
  14. file — a line of people
  15. march — the month
  16. present — there
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. march — the month
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. march — music
  24. pound — to hit hard

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