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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
468
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: band · kick · bark · rule · land · mine · hand · board

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. rule — government
  4. board — a committee
  5. land — a country
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. kick — in football
  13. bark — to shout
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. land — to come down
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. land — ground
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. hand — help
  21. rule — a law
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. band — a music group
  24. board — to get on

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