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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. face — to confront
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. capital — a city
  9. pitch — completely
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. rash — a series
  13. bass — low music
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bore — to tire
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to bend
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. capital — money
  23. rash — hasty
  24. face — to point toward

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