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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. face — to confront
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. march — music
  5. capital — money
  6. face — part of the head
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. face — to point toward
  9. race — the arms race
  10. march — the month
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. race — humankind
  15. toast — bread
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. prune — to trim
  20. capital — a city
  21. bark — to shout
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. race — a contest

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