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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: land · bound · rule · squash · hand · bark · trunk · pitch

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. hand — help
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pitch — completely
  7. rule — a law
  8. land — ground
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. land — to come down
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. land — a country
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. rule — government
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bound — certain

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