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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · ground · march · plane · mark · bark · staff · game

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. clip — a video
  3. game — a match
  4. ground — a position
  5. march — the month
  6. staff — employees
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mark — a trace
  12. staff — employees
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. march — music
  15. staff — a stick
  16. bark — to shout
  17. plane — a tool
  18. clip — for paper
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. ground — crushed
  23. march — the month
  24. mark — a grade

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