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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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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 · wind · pitch · last · root · leaves · bark

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. root — of a word
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. rule — government
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — part of the head
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. rule — a law
  18. wind — moving air
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. bark — to shout
  22. face — to confront
  23. pitch — completely
  24. last — final

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