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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. face — to confront
  3. board — a committee
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. face — part of the head
  10. fine — all right
  11. kid — child
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bass — low music
  15. bark — to shout
  16. face — to point toward
  17. board — to get on
  18. bass — the fish
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. fine — high quality
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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