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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 · bark · board · season · hand · march · mine · squash

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. board — a committee
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. season — of the year
  7. bound — certain
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bark — to shout
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. squash — to crush
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. march — the month
  18. bound — tied together
  19. season — in sport
  20. hand — help
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bound — obliged
  23. mine — for digging
  24. board — to get on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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