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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. field — farmland
  5. board — a committee
  6. wound — an injury
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — to confront
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. field — for sport
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. bark — to shout
  15. board — to get on
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. staff — a stick
  21. toast — bread
  22. face — part of the head
  23. field — a subject
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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