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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 124 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. face — to confront
  3. bark — to shout
  4. face — to point toward
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. stand — to bear
  8. face — part of the head
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. hand — help
  12. board — to get on
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. root — of a word
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. board — a committee
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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