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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. kid — to tease
  3. face — to confront
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. face — to point toward
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. last — to go on
  11. bark — to shout
  12. face — part of the head
  13. kid — child
  14. bank — for money
  15. last — finally
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. last — final
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bank — for money
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bank — of a river

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