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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: band · nail · rash · game · bark · fall · sharp · stand

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. sharp — clever
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. game — wild animals
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stand — to bear
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bark — to shout
  14. band — a music group
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. game — a match
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. rash — hasty
  21. fall — to drop
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. rash — a series

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