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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: bowl · saw · face · bark · trunk · club · march · pound

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. face — to confront
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. club — for golf
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. club — a group
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. march — music
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pound — a weight
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. march — the month
  21. bark — to shout
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. saw — the tool
  24. face — part of the head

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