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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: face · bark · trunk · rock · stock · rule · game · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stock — shares
  4. rock — music
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. game — a match
  7. rock — a stone
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rule — a law
  10. face — to confront
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. game — wild animals
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bark — to shout
  23. rule — government
  24. face — to point toward

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