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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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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: bound · land · last · foot · pitch · calf · swing · bark

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. foot — a measure
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pitch — completely
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. swing — music
  16. last — final
  17. bound — certain
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bound — tied together
  20. land — to come down
  21. last — to go on
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. last — finally
  24. land — a country

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