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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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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: tear · pound · swing · pitch · band · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. board — a committee
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. swing — music
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pound — a weight
  13. tear — from crying
  14. board — to get on
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pitch — a sports field

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