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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wake — a trail
  6. rock — a stone
  7. wind — moving air
  8. face — to point toward
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. face — to confront
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. press — to push
  19. rock — music
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. face — part of the head
  24. press — newspapers

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