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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 120 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: band · tear · land · board · suit · pound · pitcher · bark

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. tear — from crying
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. suit — to fit
  6. suit — clothes
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. suit — in cards
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. band — a music group
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. board — a committee
  22. bark — to shout
  23. land — a country
  24. pound — to hit hard

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