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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. ground — a position
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. race — a contest
  5. craft — boats
  6. bound — obliged
  7. snap — to click
  8. face — to confront
  9. clip — a video
  10. craft — a skill
  11. bound — certain
  12. clip — for paper
  13. race — humankind
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bound — tied together
  18. race — the arms race
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. face — part of the head
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — of a tree

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