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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: game · bark · pound · face · hide · kick · row · track

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. row — a line
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. track — to keep track
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pound — a weight
  13. face — to confront
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. track — a song
  16. face — part of the head
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. track — a path
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. hide — to keep secret

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