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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. game — a match
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. net — after costs
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. net — in sport
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. face — to confront
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. rock — music
  15. bark — to shout
  16. face — part of the head
  17. game — wild animals
  18. face — to point toward
  19. net — for catching
  20. pass — a permit
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pitcher — a jug

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