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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. capital — money
  6. squash — the sport
  7. capital — a city
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bound — obliged
  10. face — part of the head
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. squash — to crush
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bound — tied together
  19. wake — a trail
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. band — a music group
  24. bound — certain

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