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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: fan · bark · suit · band · pitcher · dip · land · game

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. land — a country
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. band — a ring
  6. suit — clothes
  7. dip — to sink
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. land — to come down
  10. bark — to shout
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. suit — in cards
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. land — ground
  19. game — a match
  20. band — a music group
  21. suit — to fit
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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