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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. craft — boats
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. hand — help
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bark — to shout
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. craft — a skill
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cue — a hint
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. pitch — completely
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cue — for pool
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cue — a signal

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