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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: bat · bark · fall · bound · board · fork · pitcher · date

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. fall — the season
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bound — certain
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bound — obliged
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. fall — to drop
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. fall — to drop
  18. board — to get on
  19. bark — to shout
  20. date — the fruit
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bat — the animal
  24. date — on the calendar

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