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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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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: hand · game · bore · band · bark · stand · firm · field

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. band — a music group
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bore — to drill
  5. firm — a company
  6. band — a ring
  7. firm — steady
  8. game — a match
  9. firm — decided
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bark — to shout
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. hand — help
  18. field — a subject
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bore — to tire
  24. stand — to bear

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