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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. court — for sport
  3. face — to confront
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rash — a series
  8. court — of a king
  9. saw — the tool
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. court — of law
  15. rash — hasty
  16. roll — a cake
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. saw — the tool
  20. roll — a list
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — hurry

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