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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. race — a contest
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cue — a hint
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. chip — to eat
  12. race — the arms race
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cue — for pool
  15. face — to point toward
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. race — humankind
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. plane — a tool
  22. chip — for betting
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wound — an injury

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