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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — part of the head
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. hand — in cards
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rock — music
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bark — to shout
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. rock — a stone
  13. fine — all right
  14. face — to point toward
  15. fine — high quality
  16. hand — help
  17. chest — a box
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. leaves — of a tree

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