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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pitcher · mark · date · spring · rule · bark · wind

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to point toward
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rule — government
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. face — to confront
  7. spring — of water
  8. mark — a trace
  9. date — the fruit
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. spring — the season
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. pitcher — a jug

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