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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wind — moving air
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. ball — a great time
  8. net — after costs
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. face — to point toward
  12. court — of a king
  13. ball — a dance
  14. wind — moving air
  15. court — of law
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to confront
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. row — a line

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