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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. cap — a lid
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. face — part of the head
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. face — to point toward
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. face — to confront
  22. cap — of ice
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pit — in a race

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