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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. last — to go on
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. kid — to tease
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. bark — to shout
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. march — music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. face — to confront
  16. pit — in a race
  17. last — finally
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — a hole
  21. last — final
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. kid — child

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