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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. face — to point toward
  4. race — humankind
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. field — a subject
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bark — to shout
  9. field — farmland
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. face — part of the head
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mug — a cup
  14. race — a contest
  15. mug — a face
  16. face — to confront
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. mug — to rob
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. field — for sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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