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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: stand · rash · game · snap · face · bark · row · wound

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wound — an injury
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. row — to paddle
  10. game — wild animals
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. game — a match
  13. rash — a series
  14. stand — to bear
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. face — to point toward
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bark — to shout
  19. face — to confront
  20. snap — to click
  21. row — a line
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — for spectators

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