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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. 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. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. board — a committee
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bark — to shout
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. file — a line of people
  10. board — to get on
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pound — a weight
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. mine — for digging
  15. file — a tool
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. file — a document
  18. 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