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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. march — the month
  4. plane — a tool
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. march — music
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. degree — from a university
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. chair — a leader
  11. degree — temperature
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. club — for dancing
  14. march — the month
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. club — a group
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bark — to shout
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. lie — to recline
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chair — a professorship

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