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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. sharp — clever
  3. court — of law
  4. face — part of the head
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. rash — a series
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. court — for sport
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. face — to point toward
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rash — hasty
  15. court — of a king
  16. face — to confront
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. nail — for a hammer

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