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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. club — a group
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. land — ground
  9. bound — certain
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bark — to shout
  15. ball — a great time
  16. board — to get on
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bound — obliged
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. board — a committee
  24. ball — a round shape

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