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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 116 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: snap · rule · cap · bark · pound · face · land · row

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. land — a country
  4. cap — a lid
  5. pound — a weight
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. snap — to click
  8. cap — a hat
  9. row — to paddle
  10. land — to come down
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. land — ground
  14. rule — government
  15. cap — of ice
  16. bark — to shout
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to confront
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. rule — a law
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. face — to point toward
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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