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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bore — to drill
  4. staff — a stick
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. face — to confront
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bark — to shout
  12. staff — employees
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cell — a phone
  16. race — humankind
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. face — part of the head

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