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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. land — to come down
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. court — for sport
  7. fork — in a road
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. root — of a plant
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pound — a weight
  12. track — a path
  13. plane — a tool
  14. face — part of the head
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. court — of law
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. root — of a word
  20. court — of a king
  21. face — to confront
  22. root — the cause
  23. track — to keep track
  24. plane — in geometry

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