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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. field — a subject
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. field — farmland
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. face — part of the head
  7. shower — rain
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. ground — the earth
  10. face — to confront
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. face — to point toward
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bark — to shout
  16. ground — crushed
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. ground — a position
  19. land — a country
  20. field — for sport
  21. land — to come down
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. land — ground
  24. shower — to wash

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