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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: bark · march · pound · swing · deal · scale · stick · bear

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. swing — to play on
  3. bear — the animal
  4. swing — in golf
  5. deal — to handle
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bark — to shout
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. scale — in music
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. swing — music
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. deal — an agreement

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