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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: ball · wave · drill · board · cell · bark · pound · hand

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. hand — help
  6. drill — army training
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — a committee
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a great time
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. drill — a practice
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. cell — in biology
  20. board — to get on
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. drill — the tool
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. pound — a weight

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