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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 · rock · wound · fall · bark · mug · mark · race

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. mark — a grade
  3. rock — music
  4. face — to confront
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mug — a face
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. face — part of the head
  10. mug — to rob
  11. fall — to drop
  12. race — a contest
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rock — a stone
  15. fall — the season
  16. mug — a cup
  17. face — to point toward
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. race — humankind
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bark — to shout
  24. race — the arms race

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