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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. face — part of the head
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. field — for sport
  6. pop — music
  7. fine — all right
  8. field — farmland
  9. plane — a tool
  10. field — a subject
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. face — to confront
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. pop — soda
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. row — a line
  23. cue — for pool
  24. fine — high quality

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