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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: wind · march · bark · sharp · mine · branch · plane · pitcher

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wind — moving air
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. branch — a division
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — a tool
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wind — moving air
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mine — for digging
  23. march — music
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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