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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. fall — to drop
  3. firm — steady
  4. face — part of the head
  5. fall — to drop
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fall — the season
  8. capital — money
  9. mine — for digging
  10. firm — decided
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. last — final
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. last — to go on
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — to point toward
  17. capital — a city
  18. firm — a company
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. season — in sport
  23. last — finally
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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