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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. face — to point toward
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. bore — to drill
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. hand — in cards
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. game — a match
  13. capital — a city
  14. face — to confront
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. capital — money
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — a permit
  20. bore — to tire
  21. game — wild animals
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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