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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: wound · toast · face · bark · band · tear · sharp · chest

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. face — to point toward
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. tear — from crying
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. sharp — clever
  10. face — to confront
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. face — part of the head
  13. wound — an injury
  14. toast — bread
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. chest — of your body
  24. tear — to rip

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