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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. drill — a practice
  3. mark — a trace
  4. ball — a dance
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bark — to shout
  9. date — the fruit
  10. ball — a great time
  11. drill — army training
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. mark — a grade
  15. drill — the tool
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. pop — music
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pop — soda
  24. straw — dry grass

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