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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. face — to confront
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bark — to shout
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pop — to visit
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. capital — a city
  13. face — to point toward
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. capital — money
  16. game — a match
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. pop — music
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. game — wild animals

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