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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: bound · mine · hand · march · scale · pound · pass · bark

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bound — certain
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. hand — help
  10. march — the month
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pound — a weight
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. march — music
  16. pass — a permit
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. march — the month
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. scale — in music
  24. pound — to hit hard

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