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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. face — to confront
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. rest — what's left
  6. capital — a city
  7. rest — a break
  8. pop — to visit
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — music
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. spell — a short time
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. spell — letters
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. spell — magic
  24. capital — money

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