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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. suit — to fit
  5. wound — an injury
  6. branch — a division
  7. wound — an injury
  8. face — part of the head
  9. suit — clothes
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. rest — what's left
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. face — to point toward
  16. capital — money
  17. rest — a break
  18. suit — in cards
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. capital — a city
  21. bark — to shout
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. face — to confront

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