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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. bark — to shout
  4. file — a tool
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. rock — a stone
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. rock — music
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. file — a line of people
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. face — to confront
  16. kick — in football
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. march — the month
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. march — the month
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. file — a document
  24. march — music

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