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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: pitcher · land · board · band · rash · sharp · row · ball

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. ball — a dance
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. land — to come down
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. rash — hasty
  15. sharp — clever
  16. rash — a series
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. ball — a great time
  21. board — to get on
  22. band — a ring
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — exactly

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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