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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. field — farmland
  4. band — a music group
  5. face — part of the head
  6. field — for sport
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. field — a subject
  9. date — the fruit
  10. mark — a grade
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bark — to shout
  13. swing — in golf
  14. band — a ring
  15. firm — steady
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. face — to point toward
  18. firm — a company
  19. face — to confront
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. firm — decided
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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