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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. court — of law
  4. face — to confront
  5. dip — to sink
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. face — to point toward
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. bark — to shout
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. court — for sport
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. scale — in music
  17. cold — not warm
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cold — an illness
  21. court — of a king
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cabinet — ministers

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