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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  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. face — to point toward
  2. bark — to shout
  3. face — to confront
  4. cap — of ice
  5. club — for dancing
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. present — there
  12. capital — money
  13. present — a gift
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cap — a hat
  17. swing — music
  18. capital — a city
  19. club — for golf
  20. cap — a lid
  21. present — the time now
  22. club — a group
  23. face — part of the head
  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