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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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Word bank
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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. face — to confront
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. root — of a word
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cell — in biology
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — the cause
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cold — an illness
  12. court — of a king
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. plane — a tool
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. court — for sport
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cell — a phone
  23. chair — a leader
  24. face — to point toward

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