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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. face — to confront
  5. band — a ring
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. wind — moving air
  8. plane — a tool
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pound — a weight
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. spring — of water
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wind — moving air
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. spring — the season
  20. face — part of the head
  21. band — a music group
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pound — for dogs

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