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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · mate · wound · straw · bass · bark · pitch · mine

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. mate — a friend
  5. march — the month
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wound — an injury
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. march — music
  16. mate — to breed
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. pitch — completely
  24. march — the month

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