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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: court · stem · march · bound · wax · bat · pitcher · bark

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. march — the month
  3. court — for sport
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. stem — to come from
  6. march — the month
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. march — music
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bound — certain
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bound — tied together
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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