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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.

Make a worksheet

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: bark · mate · lean · land · current · march · wind · squash

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. land — ground
  6. march — the month
  7. bark — to shout
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. squash — to crush
  13. march — music
  14. current — electric
  15. march — the month
  16. land — a country
  17. lean — thin
  18. wind — moving air
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. current — happening now
  21. mate — a partner
  22. land — to come down
  23. squash — the sport
  24. current — of water

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