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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: coach · band · board · shower · row · pound · date · bark

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. band — a ring
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. board — a committee
  9. date — the fruit
  10. board — to get on
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. shower — rain
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bark — to shout
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. band — a music group
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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