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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: bound · land · ball · bark · drill · suit · kick · row

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. suit — clothes
  2. land — ground
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. land — to come down
  7. drill — army training
  8. ball — a great time
  9. drill — a practice
  10. suit — in cards
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bound — tied together
  13. drill — the tool
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bound — certain
  16. suit — to fit
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bark — to shout
  19. row — to paddle
  20. ball — a dance
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. kick — in football
  23. row — a line
  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