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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — to confront
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. land — a country
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. snap — to click
  14. land — ground
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. mine — for digging
  18. land — to come down
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. nail — for a hammer

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