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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 · land · date · rock · march · bark · squash · tear

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bound — certain
  3. march — music
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. land — to come down
  6. squash — to crush
  7. land — a country
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. date — the fruit
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. land — ground
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bark — to shout
  15. tear — to rip
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rock — music
  19. march — the month
  20. rock — a stone
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. march — the month
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bound — tied together

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