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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 120 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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bark — to shout
  3. field — farmland
  4. club — a group
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fall — the season
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. club — for dancing
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pop — soda
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tear — to rip
  15. club — for golf
  16. shower — rain
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pop — to visit
  19. board — to get on
  20. fall — to drop
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pop — music
  24. board — a flat piece

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