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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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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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. court — of a king
  2. bark — to shout
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. face — part of the head
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. last — final
  12. court — of law
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. branch — a division
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. face — to point toward
  19. snap — to click
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. court — for sport
  23. staff — a stick
  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