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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. rock — a stone
  7. bark — to shout
  8. capital — a city
  9. board — to get on
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. band — a music group
  12. kick — in football
  13. band — a ring
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — magic
  16. capital — money
  17. board — a committee
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rock — music
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — certain
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. capital — a big letter

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