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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. craft — boats
  4. bat — the animal
  5. race — a contest
  6. kid — child
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. key — for a lock
  10. land — to come down
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. key — the most important part
  17. land — ground
  18. face — part of the head
  19. kid — to tease
  20. face — to confront
  21. key — in music
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. land — a country
  24. bat — in an idiom

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