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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · season · bark · club · staff · cabinet · lean · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. staff — a stick
  11. face — to point toward
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. staff — employees
  15. net — in sport
  16. club — a group
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. staff — employees
  21. lean — thin
  22. club — for golf
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. lean — to rest against

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