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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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 point toward
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. face — part of the head
  7. spell — a short time
  8. face — to confront
  9. rest — what's left
  10. capital — a city
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pop — soda
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. spell — magic
  15. pop — music
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rest — a break
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. pop — to visit
  21. spell — letters
  22. capital — money
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rest — what's left

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