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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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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: rock · wound · chest · last · board · bark · pound · stem

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pound — a weight
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — a stone
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. last — finally
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. chest — a box
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. board — to get on
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bark — to shout
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  24. board — a committee

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