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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: perch · board · pitcher · band · field · tear · jam · nail

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. tear — to rip
  9. board — a committee
  10. perch — the fish
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — a subject
  14. tear — from crying
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. tear — from crying
  17. band — a music group
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. board — to get on
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. band — a ring
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. pitcher — a jug

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