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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: cold · bore · board · temple · bark · face · spring · season

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bore — to drill
  5. board — to get on
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. face — part of the head
  8. season — in sport
  9. face — to point toward
  10. board — a committee
  11. spring — of water
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bore — to tire
  14. season — of the year
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. spring — the season
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bark — to shout
  22. cold — not warm
  23. face — to confront
  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