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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 124 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — music
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. root — the cause
  6. face — to confront
  7. rule — a law
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. root — of a word
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bark — to shout
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. march — the month
  18. face — part of the head
  19. march — the month
  20. face — to point toward
  21. rule — government
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. snap — to click
  24. root — of a plant

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