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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: lie · suit · face · wound · kid · ground · bark · cap

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cap — of ice
  5. kid — child
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. face — to point toward
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. face — to confront
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bark — to shout
  13. cap — a hat
  14. suit — in cards
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cap — a lid
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. wound — an injury
  20. face — part of the head
  21. suit — to fit
  22. ground — a position
  23. suit — clothes
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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