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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. face — part of the head
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. face — to confront
  15. cap — a hat
  16. shower — to wash
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wind — moving air
  20. shower — rain
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. cap — a lid
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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