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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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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: bound · pit · march · bark · sharp · board · tear · fan

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bark — to shout
  4. pit — a hole
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. board — a committee
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. board — to get on
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bound — certain
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. bound — obliged
  22. march — music
  23. pit — in a race
  24. fan — a supporter

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