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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · mine · fan · pop · wind · ground · key · march

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. march — the month
  8. key — for a lock
  9. march — music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. key — in music
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. key — the most important part
  14. ground — a position
  15. bark — to shout
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pop — music
  18. march — the month
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pop — to visit
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. fan — a supporter

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