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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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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 · content · rest · bark · bore · key · race · bat

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. bark — to shout
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — humankind
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rest — a break
  8. race — the arms race
  9. face — part of the head
  10. key — in music
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. rest — what's left
  15. key — the most important part
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. content — the amount
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. key — for a lock
  24. bore — to drill

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