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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: stick · roll · trunk · wake · board · wound · bat · pound

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. roll — a list
  3. pound — a weight
  4. roll — a cake
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bat — the animal
  16. board — to get on
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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