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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. present — there
  3. face — to point toward
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. content — the amount
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. present — the time now
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bark — to shout
  14. face — to confront
  15. content — happy
  16. field — for sport
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. present — a gift
  24. rush — to hurry

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