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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bark — to shout
  3. net — for catching
  4. court — of a king
  5. band — a ring
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. band — a music group
  10. date — the fruit
  11. face — part of the head
  12. net — in sport
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. court — for sport
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bound — obliged
  18. rash — a series
  19. bound — certain
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. court — of law
  22. net — after costs
  23. bound — tied together
  24. face — to confront

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