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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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 — to roll
  3. face — to confront
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rash — hasty
  9. capital — money
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. face — part of the head
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bass — the fish
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. branch — a division
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bass — low music
  20. face — to point toward
  21. capital — a city
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. rash — a series
  24. bark — to shout

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