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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. spell — magic
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — a weight
  5. face — part of the head
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. spell — letters
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — a short time
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. last — finally
  17. face — to confront
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. row — a line
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. foot — a measure

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