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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. face — to confront
  5. wake — a trail
  6. face — to point toward
  7. content — happy
  8. face — part of the head
  9. fall — the season
  10. content — the amount
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. scale — in music
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. fall — to drop

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