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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 124 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rash — hasty
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. game — wild animals
  7. dip — to sink
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bulb — for light
  14. saw — the tool
  15. face — part of the head
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. game — a match
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. rash — a series
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bark — to shout

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