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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. face — to confront
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. last — final
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. prune — to trim
  8. face — to point toward
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. net — after costs
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. face — part of the head
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cap — a hat

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