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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: track · march · last · bark · bound · saw · bass · calf

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. march — the month
  3. last — finally
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. track — a path
  12. march — music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bass — the fish
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. bound — obliged
  17. last — to go on
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. last — final
  22. march — the month
  23. bass — low music
  24. bark — to shout

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