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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. face — to confront
  5. staff — employees
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bear — the animal
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. plane — a tool
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bark — to shout
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wound — an injury

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