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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. face — to confront
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mate — a partner
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. cell — a phone
  12. face — part of the head
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — to handle
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mate — a friend
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cell — in biology

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