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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 120 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: bank · band · bark · cell · pound · hand · drill · ground

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. drill — a practice
  4. ground — a position
  5. band — a music group
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. ground — the earth
  14. drill — army training
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. cell — in biology
  18. band — a ring
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cell — a phone
  21. hand — help
  22. bank — of a river
  23. ground — crushed
  24. drill — the tool

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