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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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Word bank
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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: bark · spring · capital · hand · race · bound · saw · board

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. board — a committee
  5. bound — certain
  6. hand — help
  7. spring — of water
  8. bound — obliged
  9. capital — money
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bound — tied together
  14. spring — the season
  15. race — the arms race
  16. capital — a city
  17. board — to get on
  18. race — a contest
  19. spring — a coil
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. race — humankind
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. hand — in cards

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