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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: bark · calf · ball · rule · cold · board · jam · pound

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a committee
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bark — to shout
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. rule — a law
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. ball — a dance
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ball — a great time
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — government
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pound — a weight
  24. ball — a round shape

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