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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. net — in sport
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cap — of ice
  9. root — of a word
  10. net — after costs
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cap — a hat
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bark — to shout
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. cap — a lid
  19. net — for catching
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. root — the cause
  23. face — to confront
  24. root — of a plant

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