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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: squash · foot · bat · bark · patient · net · land · board

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. bark — to shout
  4. land — a country
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. net — for catching
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. land — ground
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — a measure
  21. land — to come down
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. squash — to crush
  24. board — to get on

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