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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 116 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. face — to point toward
  9. ground — a position
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ground — crushed
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. prune — to trim
  18. face — to confront

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