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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: deal · roll · saw · march · cue · bark · land · date

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. roll — a cake
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. saw — the tool
  5. land — ground
  6. cue — for pool
  7. march — music
  8. cue — a hint
  9. march — the month
  10. saw — the tool
  11. march — the month
  12. roll — a list
  13. land — to come down
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — the fruit
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. land — a country
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. cue — a signal

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