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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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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: game · ball · face · snap · bark · cap · mate · march

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cap — of ice
  3. march — the month
  4. face — to point toward
  5. march — music
  6. face — part of the head
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cap — a lid
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mate — to breed
  13. game — a match
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. mate — a friend
  16. march — the month
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bark — to shout
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cap — a hat
  24. mate — a partner

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