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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cue — a signal
  5. last — to go on
  6. face — to confront
  7. last — final
  8. bark — to shout
  9. march — the month
  10. cue — for pool
  11. court — of law
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. last — finally
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. march — music
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cue — a hint
  19. march — the month
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. court — of a king
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. nail — for a hammer

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