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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: land · jam · march · mate · rock · ground · pitcher · bark

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. ground — the earth
  3. march — the month
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. land — ground
  6. mate — a friend
  7. ground — a position
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. march — music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bark — to shout
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rock — music
  16. mate — to breed
  17. march — the month
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. land — to come down
  20. rock — a stone
  21. mate — a partner
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. ground — crushed
  24. land — a country

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