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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bat — the animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. face — to confront
  7. race — a contest
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. press — newspapers
  12. race — humankind
  13. net — in sport
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. face — to point toward
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. net — for catching
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rush — hurry
  22. press — to push
  23. net — after costs
  24. race — the arms race

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