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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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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: face · rule · straw · game · bore · pound · tube · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. game — a match
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rule — a law
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pound — a weight
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. rule — government
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. face — to confront

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