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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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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: ground · row · face · hide · race · bark · stick · date

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. face — to confront
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. race — humankind
  10. bark — to shout
  11. ground — the earth
  12. row — a line
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. race — a contest
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. face — part of the head
  19. date — the fruit
  20. row — to paddle
  21. race — the arms race
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. face — to point toward

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