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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: kid · tear · face · hide · wound · bass · bark · court

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of a king
  6. bark — to shout
  7. face — part of the head
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. court — of law
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wound — an injury
  13. court — for sport
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. tear — to rip
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. hide — to keep secret

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