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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: wake · club · row · march · wound · stock · bark · fine

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wake — a trail
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bark — to shout
  12. row — a line
  13. club — a group
  14. fine — high quality
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. club — for golf
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — a soup base

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