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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: trunk · press · bark · key · capital · sharp · march · fall

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bark — to shout
  3. key — in music
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. sharp — clever
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. march — music
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. capital — a city
  13. fall — to drop
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. capital — money
  16. key — the most important part
  17. fall — to drop
  18. key — for a lock
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fall — the season
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. press — to push
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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