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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: bark · board · chest · pound · staff · game · mug · fine

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. board — a committee
  7. staff — employees
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bark — to shout
  11. staff — a stick
  12. game — a match
  13. chest — a box
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a cup
  18. pound — a weight
  19. game — wild animals
  20. chest — of your body
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. staff — employees
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. board — to get on

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