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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 116 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: ground · fork · board · object · pop · bat · band · wind

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. fork — in a road
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a committee
  5. object — to protest
  6. band — a music group
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. ground — a position
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. pop — music
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. object — a thing
  20. pop — to visit
  21. object — an aim
  22. band — a ring
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pop — soda

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