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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: bound · rock · ground · clip · face · snap · wake · bark

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. clip — a video
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rock — a stone
  7. clip — to cut
  8. ground — the earth
  9. snap — to click
  10. ground — a position
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bark — to shout
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bound — certain
  19. rock — music
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bound — obliged

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