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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: dip · board · branch · game · ground · bark · bat · face

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. game — a match
  3. face — to confront
  4. ground — a position
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. board — a committee
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. board — to get on
  13. ground — the earth
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. ground — crushed
  20. face — to point toward
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. face — part of the head
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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