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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bound — tied together
  4. season — in sport
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. face — to confront
  10. season — of the year
  11. bound — obliged
  12. tube — the underground
  13. game — a match
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pit — in a race
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. bound — certain
  21. tube — a container
  22. face — part of the head
  23. prune — to trim
  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