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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: bark · press · arm · chest · wax · pound · drill · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. drill — army training
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. chest — of your body
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wax — to grow
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. chest — of your body
  12. drill — a practice
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. chest — a box
  20. press — to push
  21. march — music
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. wax — for sculpting

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