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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 124 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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. net — for catching
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rash — a series
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. face — to confront
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. board — to get on
  14. cap — a lid
  15. rash — hasty
  16. board — a committee
  17. bark — to shout
  18. face — to point toward
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cap — of ice
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. board — a flat piece

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