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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. net — for catching
  3. face — to confront
  4. drill — the tool
  5. face — part of the head
  6. deal — to handle
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. mate — a friend
  10. face — to point toward
  11. net — in sport
  12. bark — to shout
  13. drill — a practice
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. capital — a city
  17. drill — army training
  18. mate — to breed
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — to come from
  23. capital — money
  24. net — after costs

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