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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 · bay · rash · march · bark · key · shower

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. march — the month
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — the most important part
  6. face — to confront
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rule — government
  9. rash — a series
  10. rule — a law
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rash — hasty
  17. face — part of the head
  18. shower — rain
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. key — in music
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. shower — to wash
  24. rash — on the skin

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