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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. face — to confront
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cold — not warm
  8. craft — a skill
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. rush — hurry
  13. chest — a box
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. craft — boats
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. chest — of your body
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. perch — the fish
  22. face — to point toward
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. perch — for a bird

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