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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. face — to confront
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. race — humankind
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. face — part of the head
  12. root — of a word
  13. face — to point toward
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. fall — to drop
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. root — the cause
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. fall — the season
  24. calf — of the leg

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