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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. last — finally
  3. bass — low music
  4. face — to point toward
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. spring — the season
  8. bass — the fish
  9. spell — magic
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. face — to confront
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. face — part of the head
  15. spell — letters
  16. last — to go on
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. last — final

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