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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tear · kid · mouse · plane · pitcher · field · bound · board

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bound — tied together
  4. board — a committee
  5. bound — obliged
  6. field — farmland
  7. kid — child
  8. tear — from crying
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. board — to get on
  16. field — a subject
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. field — for sport
  22. bound — certain
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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