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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. land — ground
  4. wound — an injury
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — the cause
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bark — to shout
  10. board — to get on
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. land — to come down
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. chip — to eat
  16. face — part of the head
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. board — a committee
  20. wound — an injury
  21. land — a country
  22. face — to confront
  23. root — of a plant
  24. board — a flat piece

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