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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. sharp — clever
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. face — part of the head
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bark — to shout
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mine — for digging
  15. band — a ring
  16. face — to confront
  17. key — in music
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. face — to point toward
  20. band — a music group
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. sharp — exactly

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