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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: board · fall · lean · toast · shower · land · bark · pitch

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. shower — to wash
  3. board — a committee
  4. land — a country
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. lean — thin
  8. fall — to drop
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. lean — to bend
  11. land — ground
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. board — to get on
  16. land — to come down
  17. fall — the season
  18. shower — rain
  19. bark — to shout
  20. toast — bread
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. board — a flat piece

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