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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. face — part of the head
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. face — to confront
  5. pit — a hole
  6. face — to point toward
  7. pit — in a race
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. row — a line
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. row — to paddle
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. game — a match

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