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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: mine · dip · band · pass · bark · rest · land · wake

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pass — a permit
  4. dip — to sink
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — a country
  7. band — a ring
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. rest — what's left
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rest — a break
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bark — to shout
  19. band — a music group
  20. land — ground
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pass — to succeed

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