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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. sharp — clever
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. face — to confront
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. squash — to crush
  9. rash — a series
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. rash — hasty
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. net — for catching
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — a division
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chair — a leader
  19. face — to point toward
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. net — in sport
  22. face — part of the head
  23. net — after costs
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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