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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: cabinet · pitcher · game · ground · bound · band · foot · bark

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. ground — a position
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — obliged
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. ground — the earth
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. foot — a measure
  18. band — a music group
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. band — a ring
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bark — to shout
  24. game — a kind of play

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