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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bark — to shout
  4. net — after costs
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. net — in sport
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. face — to confront
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. pit — a hole
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. face — to point toward
  15. pit — in a race
  16. content — happy
  17. net — for catching
  18. content — the amount

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